


Let Me Adore You

by FivePips, jennandblitz



Series: Rock 'n' Pole [10]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anxiety, Asexual Character, Asexual Remus, Daddy Kink, Depression, Dom/sub, Established Relationship, Genderfluid Sirius, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Injuries, Other, Past Child Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Rope Bondage, Tickling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:13:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 61,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21918886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FivePips/pseuds/FivePips, https://archiveofourown.org/users/jennandblitz/pseuds/jennandblitz
Summary: Remus and Sirius continue to try to navigate their first year of marriage. It’s a little bit of a rocky road, with the trials of life to contend with, but they have each other!
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Series: Rock 'n' Pole [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1452979
Comments: 123
Kudos: 97





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please keep an eye on the tags

Remus stared at the two people emerging from the car. He had only seen one photo of them but the resemblance to Sirius and Regulus — not to mention Sirius’ reaction — was enough to tell Remus his suspicions were true. The people were Sirius’ biological parents. Remus wasn’t sure what to do. Murder was probably frowned upon, sadly.

“Let’s go, our car’s out front.” Remus gave Sirius’ hand another tug. They were frozen on the spot. How was it the Blacks managed to appear at the end of lovely holidays. The difference with this and Reggie was that Sirius and Remus would never invite them into their flat. “Snuffles is waiting for us at Al and Frank’s. We can check out Al’s baby bump.”

Walburga was the first to notice Sirius. Her eyes narrowed on them then Orion followed her gaze as they began to walk towards Sirius and Remus. Remus was tempted to pick Sirius up and carry them out of there for a minute there.

Sirius was apparently glued to the spot though, just squeezing Remus’ hand tightly. “Er--yeah, right.”

“We have to move. You’re stronger than them.” Remus gave their hand another squeeze.

“Y--yeah.” 

Walburga drew close enough for Remus to see the look of displeasure on her face. “Hm, this is the last time we’re coming here, Orion. The clientele has clearly dropped in worth since our last visit.”

“I see they just let pure evil through the gates here. What a pity, such a beautiful place.” Remus spoke, staring straight at Walburga.

That seemed to snap Sirius out of it as they walked past them without a word, their hand still tight in Remus’. 

Walburga narrowed her eyes at Remus, her judgemental gaze sweeping over him. She hadn’t looked in Sirius’ direction for even half a second, it felt like. “A pity indeed. Wasn’t aware they took charity cases here.”

“Well, when you give money to charity… does that make you a charity case? I don’t think so, you frigid bitch.” The words tumbled out of Remus’ mouth. “I wonder how it feels to push your own kids away so much that neither of them want anything to do with you. They’re actually decent people who are loved completely. So, you can fuck off to hell again or wherever the fuck you come from.”

Beside him, Sirius made a sort of strangled noise. Walburga blinked, one manicured eyebrow raising. Orion, who had been holding a conversation with someone else in the lobby, turned to his wife and gave Remus an imperious look. “Shall we, Walburga? The riff raff are on their way out.”

“Hope we never see you again. Bye.” Remus physically pulled Sirius along, his heart pounding in his chest as he finally made it to the doors. “Oh shit.”

Sirius looked even paler than usual, staring back in the vague direction of their biological parents. “Did--did you just say that?”

“Yeah, I did.” Remus made a face. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“I--er--” Sirius shook their head, biting their bottom lip. “Me neither.”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.” He frowned as they got to the car.

Sirius leaned their hip against the door, blinking as if they were trying to focus. “Er--no, no I mean… I--er--don’t know if anyone’s ever… ever spoken to her like that. I don’t want…”

“I’m so sorry.” He put a hand on their shoulder.

“It’s fine--I mean, it’s okay, really. I--if I weren’t so shocked to see them I would cheer you on?” Sirius’ voice pitched up at the end as if they were even unsure of themselves.

“No, I understand. What do you need, love?”

“To go home.” Sirius ran a hand through their hair then stepped up to Remus and wrapped their arms around his middle.

“Okay, let’s go.” He kissed their forehead. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Sirius’ voice sounded a little hoarse. “I can’t… believe you said that to her.”

“Um, I shocked myself but it felt good. I’m sorry if it upset you.”

They shook their head. “They deserved it. I just… I shouldn’t be surprised they practically ignored me, but I am?”

“I understand that.” Remus nodded.

“Can we just go home?” Sirius squeezed their arms around his middle for a moment before pulling away and moving towards the passenger side.

“Of course we can. Do you want me to stop to get Snuffles before or after I drop you home?” Remus got into his seat.

Sirius had their head tipped back against the seat. “I’ll come with you.” They turned a little to look into the lobby of the hotel and sounded as if they were going to say something else but just trailed off.

If Remus didn’t want to burn all the Black’s stuff down in the past, he certainly did now. They made Remus’ skin crawl just looking at them. He couldn’t comprehend what those two were like to Sirius when they were younger. Or how they managed to give birth to both Sirius and Regulus. The two were such great people, it didn’t make any sense to him.

They drove in silence for a minute or two before Sirius pulled out their phone and started playing music. 

“I thought if I ever saw them again I wouldn’t care a bit, you know?”

“Of course you care about it, no matter how frustrating it is.” Remus glanced over at them. They were sitting with their thighs hugged against their chest, heels on the seat, chin propped atop their knees.

“I didn’t want to just… shut down but I just couldn’t do anything,” they said, biting their lip.

“Not the same, but I did the same with Fenrir, didn’t I? Just shut down?” Remus made a face as he thought about it.

Sirius huffed a little. “Yeah, except I didn’t do anything like what you did just then. I wish I’d have punched him in the face.”

“We can go track him down then you can?” Remus offered with a weird laugh.

“Ha. We can burn his place down en route to committing arson at Grimmauld Place.” Sirius reached out and put a hand on his knee.

“That would be a great idea.”

“Let’s go pick Snuffles up first at least, and eat pizza.” They sniffed, looking back out the window. “They ruined our big punk exit.”

“I called a rich lady a frigid bitch, I think our punk exit stayed intact.” Remus assured Sirius with a little smile. He wished he could make it all better for them, but he knew that he couldn’t just fix it all. He just had to be there for them.

Sirius chuckled. “Mm, that’s very true.”

“Punk is all about intention.”

“Mhmm, lecture me in your ways, Punk Remus,” Sirius murmured, their voice going a little soft.

“You’re punk enough as you are.” Remus put a hand on their knee.

Sirius hummed, taking his hand in theirs and lifting it to press a kiss to his knuckles. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Remus grinned. “We should make a fort in bed when we get home.”

“I like that idea.” Sirius kissed the back of his hand again, sighing softly. 

“We can watch a movie too, and maybe get high.”

“Yeah? You can roll. What movie shall we watch?” Sirius leaned forward and scrolled through some music choices with their other hand.

“Something sappy and romantic, I’d say.” Remus took another turn, listening to the GPS.

“Oh! Pretty Woman? It’s problematic as shit, right? But Julia Roberts in those boots.”

“Yes, we can do that. I need to get you those boots.” Remus bit his lip.

“Oh yeah?” Sirius laughed. “Thigh high boots and one of your shirts, mm?”

“Perfect.”

“Good to know you’re easy to please, caro.”

“I’m very easy for you.” He snickered then yawned.

Remus drove them home as they listened to Sirius’ music. They were fairly quiet, and Remus was worried about them. He also felt like he couldn’t give them the proper attention to talk about it until they were home.

After picking up Snuffles and a pizza, Remus was thrilled to be home. He brought the food into the bedroom with them, pulling his suitcase along. Snuffles had been attacking Sirius with love, so Remus was going to give them a minute. He knew the dog tended to make them feel better.

A few moments later, Sirius trailed into the bedroom with Snuffles on their heels, then promptly sat down on the end of the bed to give him more pets. They had a little more colour in their cheeks now than earlier, but still looked a little glassy eyed. “I think he missed us, caro,” they said, smiling slightly.

“I think so. Sorry buddy, we had a nice long weekend.” He went to unpacking his bag. “Want to set up our little fort and I’ll get everything else together?”

“Mhmm,” Sirius agreed, slipping their shoes off. “Can Snuffles come in the pillow fort too?”

“Of course he can.” Remus smiled over at them. He wanted to talk about the Blacks, but he wasn’t sure how to bring it up. He figured that Sirius would when they were ready.

It didn’t take long for them to be all cozy in the fort with Snuffles across their feet. They had the pizza between them and Remus had the weed next to him on the windowsill for after. Sirius was putting the movie on as Remus started on his pizza. “Mmm, so good.” He rubbed their back in slow circles. “No offense to that fancy ass food but this is heaven.”

“Oh, full offense to that fancy ass food,” Sirius said around a mouthful of pizza. “It was bullshit. This stuff is fucking great.”

Remus laughed, kissing the back of their neck. “True true.”

Sirius relaxed into him a little. “I’d pick this any day, as much fun as it was to terrorise those posh bastards.”

“We did terrorize them, huh?” He ran his free hand through their hair.

“Mhmm. I’m surprised they didn’t come and find us after we ran away from that room with the piano in.”

“They were probably afraid of us, I think.”

Sirius sniggered. “I’d hope so, really. You are quite scary sometimes.”

“I am? I thought I was very sweet.” Remus kissed their cheek then reached for another piece of pizza.

“Mhmm, until I push you too far, of course.” Sirius let him get halfway with the pizza slice before they leaned in and took a big bite out of it.

He chuckled, “Hey! That’s my pizza.”

Sirius grinned, tipping their head back onto his shoulder. “You can have a bite of mine if you like.”

“It’s okay, I rather not go anywhere near pineapple pizza.” He scoffed. “Bad enough I snog you after.”

“Hmm, I think you’d still snog me regardless.” Sirius tilted their head and pressed a kiss to his jaw.

“I’ll always snog you — even if you eat that atrocity.” Remus laughed, leaning into Sirius.

“Atrocity!” Sirius laughed and it echoed for a moment before they trailed off. They were silent for a moment longer. “I love you.”

“I love you too. More than anything.” Remus kissed their jaw.

Sirius gave a sniff then shifted forward and pressed their face into the crook of his neck.

“Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?” He wrapped his arm around them.

“I’m not sure,” Sirius admitted quietly. “I don’t know what to say.”

“That’s okay. Do you want to check in with Poppy? Text her in the morning?”

“Mm, I think that’s a good idea. Maybe she can help me figure it out. I just… I’m surprised by my own feelings?” Sirius shrugged, planting another kiss at the base of his neck.

“Of course.” He rubbed their arm.

“Like… I thought if I ever saw them again I would just walk past them with my head held high, but I just… froze?”

“I know, but it doesn’t matter, right? I mean, I know you wanted to do that but your head was high. You’re happy and loved now.”

Sirius sniffed again, wrapping their arms around his waist. “Yeah. I’ve more… goodness in my--my fucking little finger than either of them do.”

“You have more in your eyelash.” Remus buried his nose in their hair.

“Ha, thank you caro.” Sirius pulled back and kissed him softly. “And thank you for putting her in her place and taking over and just doing what was needed.”

“It felt so good to do that.” He smiled into the kiss. “It was cathartic.”

“Better than burning their house down, I bet.”

“I mean… it’s still an option.” He kissed them again.

Sirius chuckled softly into the kiss, wrapping their arms around his neck. “No, you’re not going to prison. You draw the line at getting arrested for public indecency, but not actual arson?”

“I mean… yeah?” He laughed. “Though the public indecency would probably make you happier.”

“Mm, I’m a voyeur, not an exhibitionist. That’s you, Daddy.”

Remus chuckled, hands going to play with their hair. “I don’t know, I think you have a little bit of exhibitionist streak in you.”

“Oh yeah?” Sirius grinned, biting their lip. “How’d you figure that?”

“You like the idea of the plug and you’re the one that put your hand on my dick in the hot tub then you crawled under the table.” Remus pulled them back to lay down.

“Hmm, I suppose.” Sirius laid down on their side next to him, tracing their finger in circles over the pattern on his shirt. “I like doing those things to frustrate you though, not because I like the idea of someone watching, I don’t think.”

“Yeah, I get that. I don’t think I like the idea of anyone watching at all.” Remus shook his head. “I just want you all the time when my scale is tipped that way.”

“I know, I can tell. We can keep it in the bedroom then. Or at the very least in private places.” Sirius rolled onto their back with a sigh. “This is why we need our own piano.”

“I know.” He twirled their hair around his finger.

“I’m so mad we got interrupted with that one we found. I was being very good though.” 

“You were being  _ very _ good princess. I was impressed.” He trailed his fingers down their arm.

“Watching you play is a fine line between just watching in awe and trying not to jump you, I guess I was one side of the line.” Sirius chuckled, leaning into his touch.

“That’s how I feel watching you dance.”

Their cheeks turned a little pink. “Yeah? I like that.”

“You’re so perfect when you dance, it’s like you’re other wordly.” Remus brushed a finger over their cheekbone.

“Hmm, you’re like that when you play, and when you climb.” Sirius tilted their head towards him a little, pressing a kiss to his palm.

Remus watched them with a soft smile, hoping that they were going to be okay and the Blacks wouldn’t harm all the growth they had gone through over the last years. “I’m happy to be home with you.”

“Me too. I like going away but I love it here with you most.”


	2. Chapter 2

Sirius weaved through the pub with three glasses balanced between their fingers. It was surprisingly busy for a Tuesday evening, so they had to take a bit of a long route back to their table to where Regulus and James were sat in conversation.

With a puff of their cheeks Sirius set the drinks down, a cider for themselves, a wine for Reg and a beer for James. “God, what is going on today, it’s just Tuesday.”

“Ha, I don’t know, I hate days like this.” Regulus took a sip of the wine.

“Pfft.” James waved a vague hand. “Both of you just hate people.”

Sirius slipped into their seat with a chuckle, taking a gulp of their drink. Well, now or never. “Yeah… er--speaking of, Remus and I ran into some people I especially hate when we were leaving our posh hotel this weekend…”

Regulus’ eyes went wide, shifting in his seat. “You saw  _ them _ ?”

James cleared his throat and hastily wiped the beer foam from his upper lip. “Shit, what?”

“Yeah.” Sirius glanced down at the table, fiddling with the edge of the cardboard coaster. “We were checking out and they walked in. Didn’t say a word to me of course… just made some--err--snide comments, and then Remus, out of nowhere, calls her a frigid bitch and tells her to go back to hell?”

“I should applaud. Where’s Moony? I want to buy him some drinks. Holy shit. Shit.” Regulus shook his head then took another drink of his wine.

“Shit…” James echoed. “Are you alright?” He leaned forward, putting a hand on Sirius’ arm.

Sirius bit their lip around a smile. “Moony is at work but I can see if he wants to come here after? But yeah… Er--I don’t know. I think I’m okay? I totally… totally froze and Remus had to drag me out of there.”

“Right, right.” Regulus looked to James. “I’m sorry you had to see them.”

Sirius scoffed, taking another gulp of their drink. “Yeah, me too. They looked as horrific as ever. Remus was fucking great though, you know? She was a total bitch and he just called her out on all of it. Thought he legitimately might punch either of them at one point.”

“He’s got some balls. I could barely talk back to them.” Regulus bit his lip.

“Neither could I, kid,” Sirius murmured, reaching over to grab Regulus’ wrist and squeeze lightly. “That’s what they counted on, right?”

“Right.”

“I’m proud of you both,” James said, nodding curtly. “You got out of that hellhole and you’re both loved and you have a family here now.”

Sirius squeezed Regulus’ wrist again, nodding.

“Yeah.” Regulus cleared his throat. “I really want to hug Remus and buy him copious drinks for calling her a frigid bitch -- Christ.”

“Ha. Okay, I’ll text him to come here after work.” Sirius pulled their hand back to pluck their phone from the table and send Remus a message.

_ Reg wants you to come to the pub. He owes you copious drinks and a hug for calling walburga a frigid bitch  _ 💙

**Sure my pearl. I could use a drink. It’s been the longest day.**

😩😩😩    
_ You poor thing  _ _   
_ _ We’ll get you a beer for when you arrive _

Sirius threw their phone down, grinning. “He’s coming, said he could use a drink.”

“Good, the man deserves it.” James sat back in his seat. “We’re getting closer to his birthday. Have you made any plans?”

“Christ well it’s gonna be better than last year,” Sirius said, rolling their eyes.

“Ha, I hope so. You were such a try hard last year.” Regulus laughed loudly.

Sirius shoved his shoulder good naturedly. “Oh shut it kid. We were not having a good time back then,” they said, laughing around another mouthful of cider. “And actually, he’s got a competition that weekend, so we’re going to be there. I can actually go to this one.”

“That’s good.” Regulus nodded.

“We should still do something for him.” James nudged them.

“I know, I know. What if we do dinner on his actual birthday? And then, I dunno, we’ll just be at his comp, celebrating wins obviously. Thank god the new class intake is the week after. You know how  _ that _ gets.”

“Crazy, yeah.” Regulus nodded, knowingly. He was probably thinking about Ben and Hes.

“Exactly.” Sirius gave James a look. “Like Lily before Christmas opening season. I feel bad because I’m barely home. But at least it doesn’t clash with his birthday.”

“ _ Ah _ .” James raised his glass in solidarity. “We’re all work widows at one point or another in the year.”

“Yes, I’ve got it double.” Regulus sighed then his eyes went wide.

Sirius quickly looked to James. They weren’t sure if Regulus, Benjy and Hestia had told anyone else yet. Slyly, they reached over and gave Regulus’ wrist another reassuring squeeze; he could do it.

“Double?” James furrowed his brow.

Regulus fidgeted a little, shifting in his seat. “Yeah, with Ben and Hestia… we’re… all together. So, double?”

James’ eyebrows flew back up above the rim of his glasses. “Yeah. That’ll… that’s double for sure.” He cleared his throat and set his beer down. “In that case then, you’ve an open invitation for dinner at our place when it’s new class intake. Going from three to one can’t be fun.”

Regulus looked to relax completely. “Yeah… yeah, that’d be nice. Remus said I could hang out with him.”

James shrugged. “Both of you can come over. No big deal.”

Regulus nodded. “Great, great.”

Sirius grinned between them both, squeezing Regulus’ wrist. “Told you it’d be fine,” they said quietly.

“Yeah, but we still have a million others to tell.” He looked between James and Sirius.

James folded his arms on the table. “If anyone is anything less than thrilled for the three of you, send them to me.”

“That’s what I said!” Sirius smiled, throwing their arm around Regulus’ shoulders. “We got you, kid.”

“Remus said he’d punch them in the face too. It’s just awkward, I don’t know. I love them so much and I want everyone to know…”

“And everyone will. You don’t even need to tell them, you can just… stop hiding, and people will deal with it, you know?” Sirius watched him carefully, biting their lip. They wanted him to be happy and if anyone got in the way.

“I’m just worried, like what if I give Hes a kiss and someone gets all weird. I don’t know…”

“If they do,” Sirius grinned as they and James started speaking in unison, “send them my way.”

“Who are we sending your way?” Remus’ voice came from behind them.

Sirius spun in their seat. “Hi caro! Anyone who gives Reg, Benj and Hes shit.”

“Right, I’ll kill some people if needed.” He kissed them quickly. “Hi love.”

“Hey Remus,” James said, raising his beer.

“Good day?” Sirius shuffled their seat up so Remus could sit in the one beside them.

“Long day.” Remus moved to sit with them, wrapping an arm around their waist. “Why’s it so busy tonight?”

“That’s what I said!” Sirius chuckled, kissing him on the cheek. “It’s mad today.”

“Right?” Regulus pushed his chair back and stood up. “I’ll get the next round. Beer, Moony?”

“Sure, Reggie.” Remus kissed Sirius on the lips quickly and gave them a squeeze.

Regulus moved off towards the bar, then James held his hand out to Remus. “Here I heard you put Walburga Black in her place.”

“I don’t know about putting her in her place, but I told her off as much as I could.” Remus shook James’ hand.

Sirius rolled their eyes. “Alright bro, he was wonderful, you know this already.” 

“Sirius has told me multiple times.” Remus rubbed their side.

Sirius’ grin turned a little lurid. “Mhmm, quite loudly at some points I think.”

“Yes, rather loudly.” Remus rolled his eyes and lightly tickled their side.

James spluttered over his beer, shaking his head. Sirius jerked away from Remus, giving him a glare.

“Sorry James.” Remus shook his head.

Sirius shifted, scooting their seat a bit further away from Remus as they sipped their drink. They did tangle their foot with his though, not  _ too _ annoyed so long as he didn’t tickle them in bloody public. Remus leaned over and kissed their temple.

“I love you.” He smiled at them.

Sirius turned and kissed his cheek, murmuring quietly despite the sweet smile on their lips. “You even slightly tickle me again and I’ll scream.”

“I won’t, promise.” He put his hand on Sirius’ thigh.

Sirius put their hand over his, squeezing a little. They looked back over to see James looking around the bar with a slight smile on his face. “At the risk of letting myself in for it, your weekend was good despite the Blacks?”

“Yeah, it was great. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed every moment.” Remus nodded, giving their thigh a squeeze.

“Mhmm, it was really good… I mean, full of posh bastards but it was fun to upend everything, you know?”

James chuckled. “Of course it was.”

“We tried to be as punk as possible. We did our best,” he informed James as Regulus made his way back over.

“Exactly.”

Regulus slid into his seat with a weary sigh. “It is so busy for a Tuesday, I had to fight to the bar dammit.”

“Thanks, mate.” He took his beer. “I honestly don’t get why it’s so busy.”

Sirius nodded vigorously. “I know, right? Is something happening this week? What’s going on?”

James shrugged. “I dunno, the schools aren’t out or anything are they?”

“Don’t think so. Must just have been a day for everyone.” Remus gave their leg another squeeze.

“Right, right,” Sirius agreed. “Tuesday is the new Wednesday.”

Regulus chuckled. “Right?” He took a drink of his wine. “So, any more updates on Harry, James?”

“No, no… we’re down to two weeks! We’re so ready.” James beamed.

“You two are going to be fucking amazing parents, bro,” Sirius said emphatically. “Harry is going to be spoiled rotten and raised so right.”

“Oh so spoiled, we’re going to spoil him to pieces.” Remus grinned at James.

“Oh god, I bet you are as godparents.”

“Yep, it’s my Padfoot duty, James.” Sirius tipped their chin up, looking very haughty for a moment.

“Harry’s going to love his Moony and Padfoot.”

James chuckled, running a hand through his hair. “Oh I’m sure he is.”

“I’m so excited for more babies around.” Remus smiled from ear to ear.

Sirius bit their lip, shifting in their seat a little. They hadn’t forgotten Remus’ little meltdown over babies after a few drinks. Was he still hung up on that? They wondered if being a godparent would be enough for him or whether he wanted a child of his own-- _ their _ own. Sirius didn’t know how to feel about it.

“Who knows, maybe Hestia will join in.” Regulus snorted a laugh.

“Oh god,” Sirius said, shaking their head a little. “And Alice is due in July-ish, isn’t she?”

“Yeah!” James nodded. “It’s so exciting. Little Ro is getting so big.”

“Right! And she’s gonna have all these playmates.” Regulus was grinning ear to ear. “It’s so nice to see.”

“It’s sweet.” Remus put his head on their shoulder.

Sirius turned and kissed the top of his head, feeling a little uncomfortable with the whole conversation. They knew that one day they wanted children, but right now it felt like work and friends were taking the front seat. Would there ever be a  _ right time? _

A short time later, James set down his empty glass and clapped a hand on his thigh. “Right, I need to get up early tomorrow for work, so I’m gonna love and leave you all.” 

Regulus stretched and looked at his watch. “Yeah, Benj is finishing up soon, and Hes wants me to get takeaway on the way home.”

“Tell them we said hello.” Remus took a sip of his beer. “We’ll have to get together soon.”

“Yeah!” Sirius leaned into him a little, smiling.

James circled the table, hugging the three of them and smacking a kiss to the top of their heads. “Alright troops, I’m off. See you at the weekend?”

“Yeah James, see you then.” Sirius hugged him back then waved him off out the door.

“Bye, James.” Remus gave him a hug before Regulus said his goodbyes as well. When the two left, Remus turned to Sirius. “Home or one more drink? I don’t have to be anywhere until noonish tomorrow.”

Sirius leaned into him. “Hmm, we can have another drink if you like.”

“Okay, I’ll go grab it -- brave the crowd. Another cider, my pearl?” Remus kissed their cheek.

“Mm, please,” Sirius said, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Thank you.”

Remus smiled at them before getting up to begin pushing his way through the crowd. Sirius tipped back in their seat, watching him walk away with a grin on their face.

A few minutes later Remus returned with a beer and a cider. “Christ, it’s so busy.” He groaned, taking his seat again. “So, how are you doing?”

“So busy!” Sirius smiled, putting their hand on his thigh. “I’m good, tired but good. Glad everyone is happy, you know. How are you caro?”

“I’m glad Reggie told James about his relationship.” He smiled then took a sip of his beer. “I’m exhausted. It was just one of those crazy days, you know? Also doesn’t help after coming back from our weekend away. I mean, I had yesterday too but the second day is always the worst.” He snickered.

“Right?” Sirius grinned. “Yeah, it’s shit. Let’s go home after this drink, hm?”

“Sure.” Remus agreed with them.

“James and Lily are so excited for Harry, aren’t they.”

“Yeah, I can tell. We should buy him a gift, you know? I don’t know what though.” He rubbed their back.

“Yeah I don’t know either. I guess it depends what he likes? I don’t know very much about kids. I guess we should research or something.” Sirius leaned into him, sipping their drink.

“I’ve seen these personalized storybooks. That might be a nice gift.” Remus smiled before taking another drink.

“Oh! Yeah that would be wonderful! See you’re so good at gifts!”

He laughed and shrugged. “You are too, you just tend to overthink things like that for some reason.”

Sirius put their hand on their chest. “Me? Overthink?”

“Shocking.” Remus rolled his eyes. “That is usually  _ my _ thing.”

“Ha, it’s like we share all of the thinking, just sometimes I’ll have it all, and sometimes you have it all.”

“It’d be much better if it was a bit more even sometimes.” He snickered before nearly finishing his beer.

“I agree, but here we are.” Sirius linked their fingers and pressed a kiss to the back of his hand. “You must’ve needed that beer,” they said, nodding towards his nearly empty glass.

“God, apparently.” He shook his head. “It was a day.”

“Well now you’re done, and not in until noon tomorrow.” Sirius drained the rest of their cider and set the glass down.

“Good point. You didn’t need to finish so fast.” He nudged them.

Sirius shrugged. “I must’ve needed it too.”

“Let’s go home then.” Remus stood up then held out his hand to them.

“Home, yeah.” Sirius slid their hand into his and stood up, pushing their chair back a little. They did a little spin into his arms, grinning, before pressing a kiss to his jaw. “Take me home caro.”

Remus laughed, dipping them a little. “Yes, princess.”


	3. Chapter 3

Remus sighed as he walked into their apartment to be greeted by Snuffles. He gave him a few pets before Snuffles ignored him in favor of Sirius. He laughed then went off to the bedroom. It had been a long, tiring day for some reason. As happy as he was to get a drink with James, Reggie, and Sirius, he also wanted to be home.

“Oh god I’m so happy to be home.” He sat on the edge of the bed and kicked off his shoes.

Sirius’ voice came from the hallway over the thudding of Snuffles’ tail against the wall and furniture. “Me too! Shall we order food?”

“Sure.” He flopped onto his back and stretched his arms out above his head, hitting the wall.

“What are you in the mood for?”

“Hmm, how about mac and cheese?”

“Oh! That’s a good idea. I’ll order!” There was a pause and Remus could hear Snuffles… well, snuffling. “Shall I put the kettle on too?”

“Yeah.” He closed his eyes with a smile. Being home with Sirius and Snuffles was his favorite place to be after a long day. He listened to Sirius pottering about, the sound of the kettle boiling and Snuffles’ claws on the wooden floors. 

Eventually, Sirius came in with two mugs of tea. “Okay, mac and cheese is ordered, here is tea.”

Remus sat up and reached out for his mug. “Thanks, love.”

“You’re welcome,” Sirius murmured, setting their own mug down on the nightstand before they crossed over to the dresser.

“When I get motivated I’ll look into that story book idea for Harry.” Remus set his mug down to get changed as well.

Sirius shrugged as they pulled off their jeans. “No rush I don’t think. We can figure things out whenever.”

“He’s here in a couple weeks. I should probably look tonight.” Remus pulled out his favorite joggers and an old shirt.

“Okay.” Sirius caught him by the dresser with their arms around his waist and pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Remus smiled and rested his chin on the top of their head for a moment. “Is everything okay?” It felt like Sirius was trying to say something without saying it. They tended to do this when they thought that Remus was upset about something.

“Mhmm, I’m good.” They kissed him again. “You’re still thinking about kids?”

Remus frowned because he was surprised by the question. He hadn’t brought it up since he got spectacularly drunk… well the morning after. “Well, yeah.”

Sirius just nodded, pressing their mouth against his collarbone. “Surrogacy, right?”

“Someday, yeah.” Remus pulled back. “Why are you bringing this up?”

“Just you were super excited at the pub about all the kids, is all. Made me remember how much you talked about wanting to be a dad.”

“Mmm, yeah.” He smiled a little sadly.

“I think about it a lot, because you would be a really good dad.”

“You’d be an amazing parent too.” Remus stepped back, wanting to finish getting dressed because it felt like they were going to have an important conversation.

Sirius just nodded, getting into their old Ascendence shirt and sitting back on the bed. “Would I though, really?”

“Of course, you’re so great with Ro. You’re so sweet and caring.” Remus pulled on his joggers.

“Yeah but I’m also really impulsive and don’t think things through and aren’t very good at expressing my feelings… It feels like parenting isn’t the top of my skillset, you know?” Sirius shrugged again, raking their hair up into a bun.

“Just because you’re impulsive doesn’t mean you wouldn’t be a good parent. You express your feelings with me often and you love me unconditionally.” Remus shook his head then sat down next to Sirius.

Sirius tucked one foot up beneath them, wiggling their toes under Remus’ thigh. “Mm, that’s true. I do love you. Don’t you worry about the… time and energy a kid would take?”

“No, not really. I think that we would be able to figure it out. We have a lot of support around us, right?” He wrapped his hand around their ankle.

“That’s very true… You just know how I am with work,” Sirius said, tipping their head onto his shoulder. “You have a lot of faith in us.”

“I do because I think we’d be great parents.” He rubbed his thumb over their ankle.

Sirius nodded. “And you don’t feel like we would be giving up certain things? Because I think… I think that’s what I’m concerned about?”

“Well, yeah, I think we would be giving up certain things, but we’d be gaining plenty of other stuff, right?”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“I feel like I’m meant to have a kid, you know?” Remus shifted a little.

Sirius looked at him for a long moment. “Yeah, I know.”

“We should have talked about this all before we got married, right? Isn’t that something people talk about.” Remus asked, not that he wouldn’t have married Sirius if they didn’t want kids, but it was an important topic.

“Maybe? But hey, we didn’t…” Sirius gave him a little sad smile. “If you really want kids, we can look into it.”

“I really don’t want you to just go along with it because I want it, Sirius. That’s not how we do things.” He shook his head.

Sirius nodded. “Yeah, that’s fair. I want to make you happy, but that’s fair.” Sirius rubbed a hand over their face, then scooted back up the bed and got under the covers. “I don’t know if I’m waiting for the right time… but what if there will never be a right time and we just need to do it?”

“I don’t want to just  _ do it _ . If you don’t want kids, I don’t want to make you have them.” He shook his head. The idea of never having a child was somewhat heartbreaking, but he also wouldn’t want to force it on Sirius.

“No, no I want it. I want kids… I can see us having kids. It’s just… I don’t know if I can see it right now. But the visions I do have are just… vague ‘future’ and that’s not… you know. You would make a great dad-- _ we _ would make great parents.”

“I know that, but I still don’t want to force it on you. Even if you want them at some point. I don’t want it to be the wrong point, I guess.” Remus pulled his legs up on to the bed then turned to look at Sirius better.

“I know. But what if it’s never the wrong point and it’s just a point I don’t know of…” Sirius shrugged again, reaching across for their tea. “I don’t know. I’m impulsive in everything but this apparently, aren’t I?”

“This isn’t something you should be impulsive about, so I’m proud of you for not just jumping in.” He smiled at Sirius. “I love when you think things through and think about how you feel and how things would affect you and others. It’s a good thing.”

Sirius smiled properly, shifting in their place a little. “Thank you.”

“I love you princess.” Remus leaned forward and kissed their forehead. “We’ll just talk about it some other time, right?” He hoped in the future things would change, but he never wanted to make Sirius feel like they had to have a baby.

“I love you too,” Sirius hummed, leaning up to kiss him properly.

“I’m perfectly happy being your Daddy right now.” He grinned.

Sirius laughed, leaning their forehead on his. “Daddy now, Dad later.”

“I’m okay with that.” He tucked a piece of their hair behind their ear.

“Speaking of,” Sirius murmured, leaning in to kiss down his jawline.

“Yes, princess?” He laughed as he moved a little closer to them.

Sirius shifted closer, kneeling up to kiss along Remus’ collarbone. “If it’s been a long day, how about a shower, or a bath?”

“Mmm, maybe after we eat.” Remus’ fingers came up to play with their hair. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to get off today, but he wasn’t repulsed so he would give whatever to Sirius today. He was proud of them for not just diving into something and thinking things through. That wasn’t something Sirius was always good at, but they were getting better.

“Okay,” Sirius agreed, leaning in to kiss him on the lips again. Only a moment later the doorbell went. Sirius jumped back, grinning. “I’ll get it!”

“Sure.” Remus laughed, watching them go off.

He could hear the mumble of conversation from the hallway, then the slam of the door and some more shuffling about. A few moments later Sirius reappeared in the bedroom with a tray full of their mac and cheese. “How bad is it if we eat in bed?”

“We always eat in bed.” Remus rolled his eyes, sitting against the headboard.

“I feel like mac and cheese is a whole different level though.” Sirius grinned, keeping the tray level as they gracefully climbed into the bed and sat next to him.

“Yes, but it’s total comfort food. What is the most comfortable place in our apartment?” Remus took the tray from them.

“That is very true.” Sirius leaned in and kissed his shoulder. “Right here, this is the most comfortable place.”

“Yeah, it is.” He pressed his lips to their temple.

Sirius plucked up a fork and brandished it in Remus’ direction. “I’m fucking starving, let’s eat.”

“Okay, okay, no need to stab me.” He chuckled as he took his own fork.

They ate quickly, and Sirius did look as if they were starving. After they showered and cuddled in bed. Remus bought the book he was thinking about for Harry then they drifted off to sleep.

The weeks passed quickly, and soon it was time to meet Harry. Lily and James invited Remus and Sirius over for dinner. They were sort of rotating through everyone to meet him, instead of overwhelming the baby. That was probably the best idea. No matter, Remus was thrilled to meet Harry, even if he sort of spiraled when he heard the news the other month.

“I’m so excited.” Remus grabbed Sirius’ hand as they got off the bus.

Sirius was bouncing on the balls of their feet. “Me too. He’s going to be so spoiled. We’re the first ones to see him too I think.”

“Really? Even before Effy and Monty?” Remus held the gift bag tight in his fingers.

“Oh, yeah, Effy and Monty of course.” Sirius rolled their eyes, shaking their head and smiling to themselves. “Sorry, I’m excited.”

“Don’t be sorry.” He nudged them. “That’s silly to be sorry over. I’m excited too.”

“Me too, me too.” Sirius pressed a kiss to the back of his hand as they rounded the corner to the Potter’s flat. 

Unlike they usually did, Sirius tapped a knock on the front door before they opened it, rather than just walking in. “James, Lily,” they called, a little quieter than usual. “We’re here.”

“We’re in the living room!” Lily yelled back to them.

Remus dragged Sirius in that direction. “We’re so happy to meet Harry!”

Sirius was grinning ear to ear as they followed him, practically elbowing past Remus to go into the living room. He laughed and went after them. In the living room Lily and James were both sitting on the floor and Harry was playing at a brightly colored activity table.

“Ah! Hello!” Sirius hugged James and Lily before sitting cross-legged next to James, not too close to Harry to spook him, it felt like. “Hi, Harry. I’m Sirius.”

Remus did the same as Harry made his way over to Sirius. His heart nearly burst when Harry hugged Sirius. Watching Sirius play with him brought back up all the feelings of wanting to have a kid. He didn’t want to think about it because the last conversation with Sirius was fine. Remus knew he was going to have to wait, and it may just never happen. At least they had all these babies around them for Remus to spoil.

At one point James went off to change Harry, and Sirius went off with him. Remus turned to Lily with a smile after watching the three go off. “So, it’s been a couple days, how’s it’s going?”

Lily puffed her cheeks out and leaned against the bottom of the sofa, a big dizzy grin on her face. “It’s a bloody adjustment but oh my god I’ve never loved anything more in my whole life.”

Remus sighed, feeling jealous. “Yeah? You two look so happy.”

“Yeah, we are. I have slept like four hours in the past four days but it’s worth it. It’s so worth it. Luckily, James’ work and the ballet company are giving us both leave for a while, so we’re all here together to get settled in.”

“That’s great.” Remus smiled. He knew he would get leave from Purefit, but Sirius wouldn’t be able to take time away from the studio. They could work it out though… not that it really mattered because they weren’t having kids anytime soon.

Lily nodded, climbing to her feet. “Isn’t it? I’m gonna make a cuppa. You want one?”

“Yeah, I’ll come with you.” Remus got up too.

“Alright.” Lily held a hand out for him, helping him to his feet before heading into the kitchen. “You ever think about doing this?”

Remus frowned, a little surprised by Lily’s questions. Clearly Sirius hadn’t talked to her about this all. “Yeah, a lot.”

Lily paused, throwing teabags into mugs. “Yeah?”

He nodded, leaning against the counter. “Time’s not right though.”

Lily watched him for a moment, her gaze very shrewd. The kitchen was silent for a moment, except the sound of the kettle boiling. Remus could hear Sirius and James talking away to Harry in the nursery. “Right. One day though.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Remus smiled at her.

“Plenty of time Moony,” Lily said lightly, pouring tea.

“I know, but Sirius…” He trailed off then shook his head.

Lily’s head jerked up from the mugs of tea. “Sirius?”

“They’re not sure if there’s going to be a right time, you know? I’d hate to make them feel like they have to have a kid.” Remus explained. Outside of Poppy, this was the first time he talked to anyone but Sirius about this.

“Mhmm.” Lily was stirring tea absently but Remus was sure she was paying avid attention. “Right, but I don’t think Sirius is the kind of person to get themselves in a situation like that without it being something they didn’t want?” Lily gave him a sharp look. “Really? Sirius  _ Headstrong Impulsive Drop Everything and Travel Around the World for Two Years When They Got Themselves Into A Shitty Relationship _ Black?”

“What?” Remus’ eyes widened. He knew that Sirius had went off to travel for a few years but he had no clue about why. Remus always assumed it was just for fun.

Lily’s eyes widened. “Oh fuck.”

“They ran away? I thought…” He shook his head. Sirius never talked about that. They never really talked much about their past relationships, and Remus never brought it up after the whole Lockhart debacle. He always assumed Sirius would talk about their exes if they wanted to.

“Christ on a fucking bike, Remus. I didn’t mean to drop you in it, or them. I just assumed... “ Lily looked completely beside herself, rubbing a hand over her face. “It’s not my place to say but Sirius was in this relationship and it went in a direction they didn’t want… so they broke up with them and went off travelling. Came back about a year before they met you, I think?”

“Right…” He cleared his throat. “Okay.”

“Shit,” Lily muttered, sliding a mug of tea towards him. “I don’t--is this gonna fuck things up now? You know that they would never do that now. They were bloody miserable before they went travelling.”

“No, no, you’re not fucking anything up.” He shook his head. “I’m just surprised.” He really was. He wanted to know more, but he wasn’t going to ask Lily about it.

“Okay.” Lily leaned against the counter, cupping her own tea in her hands. “I… I thought you guys might’ve covered shit like that. But--I dunno, I’m digging deeper, aren’t I?”

“Sirius doesn’t think we should have to talk about our exes, which is fair. They don’t matter.”

Lily nodded curtly. “That sounds like them.”

Maybe this was the reason why they didn’t want to talk about their exes…


	4. Chapter 4

Sirius sat on the floor, leaning against the crib as James cradled Harry in one arm, rocking him slowly. 

“You look like you were made to do that already, you know.”

“Thank you, it feels like I was. You’re pretty damn great with him too.” James grinned at them.

Sirius shrugged, thinking back to their conversations with Remus. They were sure they were great with children, but so much would change. James looked so happy though, and they could practically see Remus sitting in his place. They’d have to move somewhere with some more space, maybe further out of the city like Alice and Frank. Sirius bit their lip. “Yeah, he’s a great kid.”

“You’re that way with Ro too,” James pointed out. “You and Moony want a baby?”

There it was again. Everyone seemed to be asking that question recently. Was this really the right time, then? They thought about that trip to Prague, to all the proposals that seemed to follow them around. Was this just the universe telling them now was the right time?

“Moony does.”

“What about you?” James raised an eyebrow.

“I do. I think we’d raise a kid a hell of a lot better than my bio parents, and I think Remus would make the best dad and I think that every time I look at him but I never know if it’s the right time.”

“Yeah, but do we ever know when things are the right time? It could be the worst time when you actually decide to go through with it.”

“Right. That’s what I’ve been thinking. I was just surprised the first time… because he was basically drunk out of his mind and said  _ I want a baby _ , so I was like, what the fuck? But now we’ve talked about it more. And I can see that. But he’s… concerned I’m doing it just to go along with what he wants.” Sirius tucked one knee up against their chest, setting their chin on it.

“You don’t do anything just because other people want it.”

Sirius grinned. “Tell him that, will you?”

“Eh, I’ll try. But I understand where he’s coming from. You do like making sure he’s happy.”

“Ha, yeah. Maybe in some areas of life, but not kids. That’s a big thing.”

“God, yeah, right.” James made a face. “Well, when you’re ready -- ready enough then I think he’ll know.”

“Yeah.” Sirius bit their lip again, thinking over everything they had talked about. 

Eventually, Harry fell asleep and James settled him in the crib, then when the four of them reconvened out in the living room, they chatted about everything and nothing for a while. Lily was nodding off, her head slipping closer to the arm of the sofa, when Sirius tapped Remus on the knee. “Shall we go home?”

“Sure, yeah.” Remus nodded, standing up.

Sirius cocked their head to look at him. He had been a little quiet all night. Perhaps it was all the baby talk, because that was weighing on Sirius’ mind too. They said a quiet goodbye to James and Sirius kissed Lily on the forehead not to wake her, before heading down with Remus towards the bus stop.

“He’s adorable, right?” Remus asked once they settled into the seat on the bus.

“He is,” Sirius agreed, smiling at the remembrance of James with Harry. Harry even looked like him.

“Lily’s so exhausted but happy.”

“She was falling asleep something awful.” It was good to see though, because both Lily and James suited it so so well.

Remus nodded, leaning his head on their shoulder. Sirius pressed a kiss to the top of his head, watching him for a moment. It must be the kids thing, mustn’t it? “Sunday tomorrow, what do you want to do?”

“We can just hang out if you want. Oh, hey, what if, if it’s clear, we could go climbing?”

“Mmm, yeah, sure.” Remus nodded, rubbing his hand on their thigh.

They were sure something was wrong, but the bus home was not the place to talk about it. All they did for the moment was hum in agreement and kiss the top of his head again. Remus was quiet all the way home and Sirius just let him, knowing he might need some time. By the time they got into the flat though, and Snuffles had attacked them with love, Sirius was worrying it was something else. They sat down in the hallway with Snuffles, patting his belly as they looked up at Remus.

“What’s wrong?”

Remus looked at them in surprise. “Nothing, I’m just tired.” He scratched behind his ear.

“Is it about kids?” Sirius tried to keep their voice neutral, still petting Snuffles.

“No, I promise.” He sat down next to them. “Sirius… Lily…”

_ Oh God _ , what had happened? Sirius tried to think back to anything they might’ve spoken to Lily about recently, but it was either all boring dance work stuff or Harry. Sirius frowned, biting their lip. When Remus trailed off they prompted him. “Lily…?”

“I promise, I don’t care and you don’t have to tell me but -- she said that you went to Brazil because you were in a relationship that you didn’t like or something. She didn’t get into it because she realized I didn’t know.” Remus rambled, gesturing with his hands. “We don’t have to talk about your ex, I remember the Lockhart explosion clearly. It’s just, I realized I just didn’t know this about you and it felt weird.”

“Oh.” Sirius swallowed around a nervous little laugh. “Oh, that. It’s not… not a big deal.”

“I don’t really care, it was just… I don’t know, I was surprised.”

“I’ve mentioned it off-handedly before but… I dunno. They were just… not good for me. Remember me saying I had an ex who didn’t like me dancing? That was them. Started trying to control everything, what I danced, who I worked with, how I dressed, who I hung out with.”

“Oh, right.” Remus nodded. “So, you just left them?”

“Tried to have a couple of tactful conversations about the direction of the relationship that fell on deaf ears and then…” Sirius trailed off, shrugging and taking a deep breath before they picked up again. “I was at a competition up north and at the end of the weekend just thought  _ fuck it _ , I’m not going back to that. Phoned James and said to look after the flat, booked myself a plane ticket somewhere warm.”

“Right, that’s… okay.” Remus sat back against the wall.

“Nah, it’s pretty fucked up, isn’t it? But I did it and I had the time of my life travelling, came back and set up the studio with Marly, so I don’t regret it.”

“Then you met me.” He grinned.

“Exactly. So really, running away to travel was arguably one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.” Sirius leaned their head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry we haven’t talked about it before, though.”

“It’s okay, it was just a little bit of a shock to hear you ran away.”

“Clearly it’s a Black sibling thing,” Sirius said, smiling wryly.

“Right, just don’t run away on me.” He joked then leaned forward to kiss them quickly. “Thank you for telling me princess.”

“Ha, no. You’re stuck with me now.” Sirius kissed back, grinning. It was so good to have a real conversation about their past without it ending badly. “You’re welcome Daddy.”

“Why don’t we go to bed? I really am tired.”

“Mhmm. Me too. It’s infectious.” Sirius patted Snuffles, who had squished up against their legs, then got up. They were by the bedroom door when they glanced back to Remus. “What would a kid call you? Definitely not Daddy.”

“Da or dad, I think.” Remus got up from the floor to follow after them.

“Dad would be nice.” Sirius switched on the light on the nightstand, stretching their arms above their head. “I like Pads or Paddy.”

“I like that, either one.” He came up behind them and wrapped his arms around their waist.

They tipped their head back onto his shoulder. “Hi caro.”

“Hi my pearl.” He pressed a kiss to their neck. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Sirius smiled, glad things seemed okay after the accidental revelation about their past. “Shall we cuddle up and watch some Bake Off or something?”

“That sounds like a good plan.” He kissed their forehead.

Sirius rubbed their hand over his arm before stepping away to get into their pyjamas. Eventually they were settled in bed with the baking show on Remus’ laptop, curled up against his back with Snuffles at their feet. 

“Mmm, I’m doing that thing where I pretend I’m a baking expert and critique the contestants. I just thought  _ god Karen if you don’t put more sugar in that icing it’ll never stick _ .”

“You are, aren’t you?” Remus mumbled, sounding half asleep.

They bit back a soft chuckle and gently untangled one hand from Remus’ to lean over and turn the volume down a little. “Mhmm. Goodnight caro,” they murmured, pressing a kiss to the nape of his neck.

“Mmmhmm.” He shuffled down into his pillows a little more.

Sirius let him wriggle a little to get comfortable, then waited a while longer before they rolled over and plucked their phone from the side. They had things to research.

The next morning, Sirius woke up with Remus curled up against their side, their phone still in their hand where they’d been googling things the night before. With a soft sigh, they pressed a kiss to Remus’ forehead. Perhaps they could go climbing today, they could see if the weather was good.

“Time to wake up?” Remus yawned then hugged them tighter.

“Not quite caro, it’s still early,” Sirius murmured, stroking their hand through his hair.

“Okay.” He nuzzled their neck.

Sirius gave a shiver. If they weren’t awake earlier then they certainly were now. “I can check the weather,” they said, keeping their voice soft. “See if we want to go climbing today.”

“That’s a good idea.” He pressed a soft kiss to the closest spot to his lips.

“Though if you keep doing that we might not make it outside.” Sirius chuckled, kissing his temple.

“Yeah?” Remus laughed and kissed the same spot again.

Sirius tipped their chin back, unable to help themselves as they grinned and wrapped their arms around his shoulders. “Mhmm and you know it. Don’t play coy.”

“Don’t you want to see me climb?” He scraped his teeth up to Sirius’ jaw.

“Hmm, I do.”

“Mmm, let’s go then.” Remus pulled back, sitting up with another yawn.

Sirius huffed a little disbelieving laugh, flopping back onto the bed. “You’re awful,” they said, but how many times had they woken Remus up with kisses then sprung out of bed?

“I’ll happily stay in bed and be nice to you, but you want to see me climb.” Remus stretched his arms above his head.

“Mmm, I want to see you climb, but also you staying in bed is wonderful too,  _ especially _ if you’re gonna be nice to me.”

Remus smiled, slipping out of bed. “What a tough choice you have.” He chuckled, heading over to the dresser.

Sirius grinned, rolling onto their side and tilting their head to watch him. “I dunno, it seems like a fairly good place to be in from my perspective.”

“Well, you should make a choice.” Remus opened the dresser.

“Hmmm,” Sirius said, biting their lip and propping their chin on their fist. “Well it’s still early. Why don’t we stay in bed for a while, then we can go climbing this afternoon.”

“You’re so smart, what a good plan.” Remus climbed back on to the bed and sat down on the end but turned so he was facing Sirius.

They shifted forward, letting the sheets fall around their hips as they leaned in and kissed the corner of Remus’ mouth. “Mmhm, you’re starting early with the compliments.”

“Would you like me to stop?” He raised an eyebrow, his hand going up to rest on their shoulder.

“Not in the slightest,” Sirius murmured, trailing a hand over his thigh.

“Okay, good because you’re so brilliant.” He kissed them softly.

Sirius gave a little shiver, leaning in to kiss him back, smiling into the kiss. His other hand ran up and down their back. Remus deepened the kiss, his tongue sweeping across their bottom lip. They wrapped their arms around his shoulders, tugging him down to lay on the bed with them, curling their tongue against his.

Remus hummed as he carefully laid on top of them, his fingers going up to their hair. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” Sirius murmured, pulling Remus closer and wrapping one leg around his.

“What do you want to do?” Remus smiled down at them, fingers still carding through their hair.

“Surprise me,” Sirius said, smirking back.

“Ha, okay.” Remus reached over to their night stand.

Sirius didn’t even bother tilting their head to watch what he was doing, instead peppering kisses down the side of his neck and across his shoulder. Remus sighed as Sirius kissed his neck then moved back to how he was before. He dropped the lube that he had grabbed and to kiss Sirius softly on the forehead.

“Anything, so many choices.”

“Mhmm,” Sirius murmured, still kissing along his collarbone, nipping and licking.

Remus’ hand rubbed down their thigh then over their stomach to their cock. “I think I just want you like this.”

Sirius squirmed under his touch, lifting their hips up towards him. “Yeah? However you want.”

“Yeah.” He wrapped his long fingers around their length. “Just you.”

“Ahh, fuck.” Sirius ran their nails down his chest, drifting lower over his stomach. “Yeah.”

Remus smiled, his other hand reaching for the lube again. He nuzzled their neck, softly pressing kisses to the skin there.

“God, look at you, you’re so gorgeous,” Sirius murmured, wrapping their fingers around him.

“Ah, fuck.” Remus thrust into their touch as his other hand continued to work on opening the lube.

Sirius couldn’t help grinning, stroking their hand slowly over him and still kissing across his shoulder. They liked lazy mornings like this so much. Without Sirius realizing it, Remus seemed to have managed the lube because soon a slick finger was pressing against them. They let out a groan, tipping their head back and hooking one leg around Remus’ hips.

“Love you.” Remus kissed their lips again, nipping softly as his finger pressed into them.

“I love you too,” Sirius muttered into the kiss, lifting their hips a little. “Ah, you’re so good.”

Remus kissed down their jaw to their neck as his finger moved deeper, bending just a bit. “If I could I would stay in bed with you all the time.”

“Yeah? I think I’d--ah--tire you out.”

He laughed. “I didn’t mean that we would be doing this all the time.” 

Sirius chuckled, biting their lip. “Ah, that’s a shame.”

“Whenever I wanted though.” He kissed all over their neck, a second finger teasing against them.

They groaned, lifting their hips a little. “Ah, whenever you want.”

“Yeah, whenever I want to make you feel good like this.” Remus hummed then pressed his finger into them.

“And you make me feel--so good.” Sirius swallowed, grinding against his hand a little.

“Yeah?” Remus’ lips moved back up over their jaw, scraping his teeth. His fingers moved inside them, twisting his wrist as he pulled them back.

Sirius’ eyes fluttered shut, groaning softly. “Yeah, you know you do. I love--love your fingers.”

“I know.” He kissed back to their mouth.

Sirius chuckled softly, leaning up to kiss him. “It’s a good job you like--ah--taking your time with this.”

“I love taking my time with you. I love feeling you like this.” Another finger joined the other two. “I love watching you like this.”

“Ah, fuck--ah, yeah.” Sirius hissed a little at the stretch, sinking back into the pillows a little. “I love this too, you know I do.”

“I know you like my fingers but I want to be inside you so bad.” Remus kissed them slowly again.

Sirius bit their lip around the most innocent smile they could muster. “You’re already inside me caro.”

“Brat.” Remus’ free hand lightly drifted up their side.

“Hey!” Sirius grinned, wriggling a little. “No tickling, I’m only teasing caro.”

“I’m not tickling, only teasing my pearl.” Remus removed his fingers then shifted a bit.

“Brat,” Sirius retorted, rolling their eyes.

“Here I thought we were having a nice sweet time.” He laughed, taking himself in his hand.

Sirius wrapped their legs around his waist, hooking their arms around his shoulders. “I’m having a sweet time, aren’t you?”

“Mmm, mmhmm.” The head of his cock pressed against them.

“Ahh, I’m glad.” Sirius moaned, lifting their hips up to meet him, one leg shifting a little higher.

“Fuck, yeah, me too.” Remus groaned as he sank into them, pausing for a moment when he was settled all the way inside. Sirius tipped their chin back, groaning at the sensation of Remus inside them. He pressed their lips together again, pausing his movements again for them to share a breath. “You feel amazing.”

Sirius kissed back, breathing shallow already. “So do you, god.”

“It’s Remus. Or Daddy. Or caro.” He laughed softly, resting his forehead against Sirius’.

“Ha, okay caro, okay,” Sirius murmured, pressing another kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Easy to mistake you for my--my god though, like this.”

“Oh, really now?” Remus moved his hips slowly, kissing them back.

Sirius hummed in agreement, stroking their hands down his back. “Yeah. You know you’re on--on top of the five pillars.”

“I know.” Remus let out a little moan as he drove his hips into them hard, but coming to a stop again. “Shirtless.”

“Ah, fuck--yeah, you shirtless, just sprawling there like you know exactly what you do to me.” Sirius arched up towards him, lifting their hips towards his.

“I know exactly what I do to you.” Remus snapped his hips again.

“Yeah--yeah you do, fuck.” Sirius swallowed, moaning against Remus’ lips. “You drive me fucking cr--crazy.”

“I know.” Remus smirked, moving harder and faster.

Sirius groaned, reaching up with one hand to tangle through his hair and pull him down into a heated kiss. Their other hand slid down between them, wrapping around their own cock. Remus responded with another satisfied noise as his continued to fuck them without pausing now.

“Fuck, so good,” Remus said against their mouth.

“I’m so--ah fuck.” Sirius bit at Remus’ bottom lip, stroking over their cock faster as they felt their orgasm pool in the pit of their stomach.

“So -- so -- what?” Remus panted as he knocked Sirius’ hand out of the way to wrap his hand around them instead.

They threw their head back, groaning as they tried to decide whether to buck up towards his hand or down towards his cock. “Fuck, Remus, so--so close.”

“Come then.” Remus groaned, his own body tensing on the edge of an orgasm.

“Ah, fuck,  _ fuck _ .” Sirius sunk their teeth into their lower lip, letting out a long moan as they could do nothing but obey.

“Oh, shit, Sirius… fuck.” Remus held on tight to them with their free hand as his other stroked them through their orgasm.

Sirius shivered, moaning again from the back of their throat. “ _ Fuck _ .”

Remus nuzzled their neck as he came deep inside Sirius. His body seemed to be doing its own thing. “Shit.”

They wrapped their arms around his shoulders, pressing their bodies together even as their legs were shaking a little. Remus’ body slumped against them, breathing deeply. Sirius tilted their head and pressed kisses his temple and down behind his ear. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” He turned his head a little.

Sirius ducked their head to kiss his lips. “Mm, this is the best way to wake up.”

“Hmm, yeah, the absolute best.” He shifted a little to pull out of them. “I’m so cozy now. Not moving from this bed anytime soon.”

“We can go climbing later,” Sirius mumbled, unhooking one leg from around Remus’ waist.

“Later.” Remus yawned. “I’ll go get you a cloth.”


	5. Chapter 5

Remus paced, looking up at the standings. There were only two more people to go who had to beat his time in order to bump him from gold in bouldering. He looked around the audience to find Sirius biting their lip and watching the bloke from Sweden beginning his climb. They looked bored, nothing like how they looked when Remus had finished his climb. After a moment they made eye contact and Sirius grinned and waved at them. Remus waved back.

They had been in New York for two days for the International Bouldering Competition. He had sailed through the qualifying rounds then quarter finals. Now it was the last round and all he could do was wait. The Swedish climber came close but .6 seconds to Remus’ time, but he didn’t beat him and that was what counted. Only one more to go.

He took a deep breath as the last competitor began to climb. Instead of watching he looked back to Sirius, who was now on the edge of their seat biting their lip again. Remus closed his eyes as shouts and cheers went up through the crowd then when he opened them he saw the time, Remus had won gold. He jumped up, all he wanted to do was hug Sirius.

With another glance back to Sirius, Remus found them climbing through the crowd towards him. He threw his head back and barked a loud laugh, feeling completely euphoric. “What are you doing?” Remus shouted at them.

“You fucking won!” Sirius all but shrieked back, in a very Marly fashion, as they climbed over the last row of chairs and ran over to him.

“I know!” Remus yelled back as he held his arms open to hug them.

Sirius leapt into his arms, throwing their arms around his neck. “You won, you won you fantastic bastard!”

He picked them up in a hug and spun them around. “I love you. I love you so much. I’m so glad you’re here.” He kissed them quickly.

Remus was eventually swept off for the medal ceremony, after a few more kisses. The whole thing passed in a blur, and soon enough he was back with Sirius and they were on the way to the hotel they were going to be staying at for three more nights before returning back to Godrics. They had been staying outside of New York City for the competition at some standard hotel, but now they were going to enjoy the next few days at a small boutique hotel near Central Park. It had been a gift from Effy and Monty for Remus’ birthday. He could hardly believe it but they wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“Oh, this is nice.” Remus looked around as they got out of their Uber. “It’s nice, but not so posh.”

Sirius pulled their bag onto their shoulder, looking around. “Oh, this looks like prime New York hipster but up-market. So, perfect?”

“Perfect.” Remus took their hand, pulling his luggage behind him in the other as they went inside.

They were quickly checked into the hotel, which seemed to bring the greenery of the park inside of plants and dark wood. It was beautiful. Their room was even better. It had a view of the park with a window seat and a big king bed. Basically in the middle of the room was a glass shower. Remus was already sure Sirius was going to take advantage of that.

Sirius let out a whistle as they set their bags down. “Wow, this place is nice.”

Remus nodded in agreement as he went over to the bed. He fell back on to it with a groan. “Oh, yes, I approve.”

“Good enough for the king of sleep?” Sirius said, running a hand over Remus’ calf.

“Yes, perfect.” He stretched out. “What should we do tonight?”

Sirius huffed a sigh then sprawled out next to him. “It depends how cliche you want to be I suppose. I’ve only been to New York for like, two days before.”

“I think we should be awfully cliche.” Remus decided, looking over at them with a grin.

“It’s a shame it’s not still festive season or we could be  _ really _ cliche and go ice skating.”

“Yeah, but I’m sure we can be very cliche elsewhere.” He laughed then rubbed his face. “Let’s get going and be awful tourists.”

Sirius chuckled, leaning in to kiss his cheek. “Let’s go to Times Square or something, take cheesy Instagram photos.”

“Yes! We can buy some cheesy tourist stuff too. Oh, we should eat at like Hard Rock Cafe or something horrible tonight. Tomorrow we can do something nicer.” Remus ran his fingers through their hair.

“Yes, Hard Rock! Let’s just be awful. We can find somewhere local and nice tomorrow,” Sirius said, tilting their head to kiss the inside of his wrist.

“Perfect. We can, maybe go to a club or something tonight. It’d be fun.” Remus smiled at them. He thought they would like to dance after a few days out of the studio.

Sirius sat upright, grinning ear to ear. “Yes! Yes I’m sure Marlene said there was a great queer club around here somewhere!”

He laughed, expecting that very reaction from Sirius. “Excellent.”

“I wanna get changed if we go out then.” Sirius slipped off the bed and went over to their luggage. “What to wear…”

“Well, if you want we can come back and change before going to the club. We can just go out like this right now to be tourist.” Remus sat up to watch them.

“Oh, I suppose that’s true.” Sirius shrugged. “I guess we’re not far away are we?”

“I don’t think so. Plus, I’m sure we can find a club around here anyhow.” Remus stood up from the bed. “Let’s go out now then come back and change?”

“Deal.” Sirius grabbed their leather jacket from the chair. “Let’s go.”

They made their way over to Times Square, and it was as loud and full of people as Remus had assumed and seen in pictures and movies and such. Remus had a good time though because he was with Sirius. They walked around, took pictures together. There were a few shops they went into. Sirius marveled at the gigantic Sephora store for a little bit but didn’t buy anything.

When they had enough of looking around they went to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe. It was terrible. Everything was overpriced and generic. “Do you think this signed memorabilia is real?” Remus looked up at a guitar that apparently had belonged to Jimi Hendrix.

Sirius snorted, leaning in to peer through the glass case. “I really, highly, highly doubt it.”

“At least this drink is good.” Remus held up his glass. He had let Sirius pick and it was something strange and fruity. It was very Marly. “If not costing an arm and a leg.”

“Oh yeah we need to take a loan out to eat here.” Sirius sipped their own drink, looking around some more.

“It’s a good thing we’re not having kids yet then, huh?” Remus laughed then made a face. Maybe that wasn’t the best thing to joke about.

“Ha, yeah,” Sirius said, swallowing as they looked back towards Remus. 

“That was a bad joke.” He shook his head. “Sorry, I really do understand.”

“It’s okay. It’s good we’re joking. I’m not upset.” Sirius reached out and took his hand.

“Okay good.” Remus smiled at them. “Though, I suppose kids would like this place.”

“Yeah. Can you imagine Harry and Ro, and when Al and Frank’s kid is here? They would all love it running riot here.”

“Christ, they would be. They’d probably break something.” Remus chuckled, trying not to think about their own kid involved in the havoc.

“Mhmm.” Sirius gave his hand a squeeze then looked back to their menu. “This is all overpriced and boring.”

“I know, do you want to just finish the drink and go somewhere else?” Remus asked them.

Sirius shrugged. “We’re sat here anyway. What’s the most ridiculous thing on the menu, if we’re gonna do this.”

“Okay, let’s look.”

Remus grinned and dove into look what was the worst/best thing they could eat. They ended up both getting these ridiculous burgers that seemed to have everything on it. By the time they finished, Remus felt like he needed to walk it off. They took their time getting back to their hotel room. They strolled along a part of Central Park near their hotel before actually heading back up.

When they did get to their room, Remus fell back onto the bed. “Okay, let’s see where we can go.”

Sirius sat on the edge of the bed and stretched their arms up above their head. “I’ve just text Marly to see what that place was called. But we can google.”

“Okay.” Remus got his phone out. “So what are you going to wear?”

“I have no idea. What do you think?”

“Well, how are you feeling today? Masc or Femme or somewhere in between?” Remus started to search for a club near by.

“Somewhere in between I think… Jeans. Something confusing. Jeans and heels.” Sirius was tapping their chin, looking down at their case.

“What about that crop top thing, you know? With the leather jacket over it? Don’t shave and wear some lipstick.” Remus suggested. “Ah, found a club nearby called Therapy.”

“ _ Therapy _ ?” Sirius laughed. “Seems appropriate. And that sounds like a good look.”

“Yep, sounds like something we both know all about too.” Remus snorted a laugh. “You could wear something else too…”

“Mhmm?” Sirius was going through their case, pulling out the clothes.

“The plug?” Remus felt his cheeks heat up. He was trying to find another time for them to use it out, but they haven’t really done anything where Remus would be comfortable with it.

Sirius’ head whipped up to look at him, biting their lip. “Yeah. You’d like that?”

“Yeah, I’d like that.” Remus nodded, shifting on the bed. “No one would know in a loud club, right?”

“Mhmm, no one but you.” Sirius’ smile widened a little.

“Yeah, that’s hot.” Remus grinned at them.

“Yeah?” Sirius wriggled a little. “You brought it? I didn’t.”

“I packed it, yeah. I know I was repulsed there for a bit but I’m not now and I thought we might have some fun while we were away.” It had been a few weeks since they had sex, which was fine, but Remus was glad to want to be close to Sirius this way right now.

Sirius smiled, scraping a hand through their hair. “Yeah. Okay. Wherever you are on your scale, it’s all good.”

“I know.” Remus nodded. “Why don’t you get yourself ready then?”

“Of course,” Sirius said sweetly, pulling their shirt up over their head before holding their hand out to him.

Remus took their hand and kissed their knuckles then ran a finger over their bracelet.

“I mean, I was holding my hand out for the plug but okay,” Sirius murmured, shivering a little at his touch.

“Ha, oh. It’s in my bag.” Remus stood up then pressed a kiss to their forehead.

Sirius leaned into his touch, stroking their hand over his thigh for a moment before they began to undress. He went over to his bag, looking for the little velvet bag and their lube. When he turned back to the bed he found Sirius stretched out.

“Here you go princess.” Remus set both the items down next to them.

Sirius rolled onto their side, smiling up at him. “Thank you. Shall I?”

“Yes.” Remus grinned at them, sitting down on the end of the bed to look up at them.

“Are you just going to watch?” Sirius said with a grin, bending one leg as they opened the lube.

“Carefully.” He put a hand on their ankle.

“And you say I’m the voyeur.” Sirius’ voice pitched at the end a little as they reached down and stroked a finger over their entrance.

“Never said I wasn’t.”

They gave a little chuckle in response, dropping their chin towards their chest a little as they eased a finger into themselves.

“You look so good princess.” Remus leaned forward and kissed their knee.

“Mm, yeah?” Sirius’ grey eyes flickered over him, their breathing going a little shallower with their movements.

“Yeah. Gorgeous.” He kissed down to their thigh. Sirius groaned softly, their hips shifting as they added another finger. “Are you excited to try this?” He ghosted his lips over their inner thigh.

“Ahh, yeah I am. I think you’ll be mean to me when we’re out though,” Sirius murmured, letting their legs fall open a little.

“I will?” He pressed more little kisses up to their knee again.

“Mhmm I think so. I think you with the remote in a smoky club with me dancing is dangerous.”

“You think, huh?” Remus let out a little chuckle, nipping at their thigh.

“Ah, yeah, I think so.” Sirius’ hips bucked.

“You’ll like it though.”

“Depends—ah—depends how nice you’ll be to me after,” Sirius said, twisting their wrist.

“I’ll be very nice to you, I always am, aren’t I?” He kissed down their leg towards their ankle.

“Mm, I suppose.” Sirius wriggled again.

“You suppose.” He smirked up at them.

“Mhmm,” they said in their most innocent voice. “Do you want to put it in?”

“Are you ready?” He asked as he reached for the little velvet bag.

Sirius pushed up onto one elbow, watching him. “Mhmm. I wish it were your fingers though, like always.”

“Maybe later princess.” Remus opened the bag and pulled out the plug.

“ _ Maybe _ .” Sirius grinned, moaning as they twisted their wrist before pulling their fingers out.

“Mmmhmm.” He put some more lube on the plug.

Sirius rolled onto their front, glancing at him over their shoulder. “Are you being slow on purpose?”

“I can be slower if you’re going to complain like that.” Remus smacked their bottom.

“Ah!” Sirius chuckled, wriggling their hips. “I’m not complaining, just  _ asking _ .”

“Oh, sure.” Remus kissed the small of their back and pressed the plug against them. Sirius made a soft keening noise in the back of their throat but didn’t say anything for a moment. “You never complain then do you?” He snickered as the plug began to sink into them.

Sirius moaned a little louder. “Nuh-uh. I never complain about you Daddy.”

“Ha, really.” He pressed another kiss to their back as his pressed his finger against the base of the plug.

“Oh fuck,” Sirius practically yelped, a shiver going up their spine.

“Okay, all in.” He sat back with a grin.

Sirius sank onto the bed, their voice a little muffled against the sheets. “We really have to go out?”

“Do you not want to?” Remus moved to kiss up their spine.

“Mm, no, I do, I do.” Sirius stayed there for a moment before lifting up towards him a little.

“Me too, come on princess, let’s get going.” He kissed their cheek then rolled off them and hopped off the bed. Sirius gingerly rolled onto their side and took a few more deep breaths before climbing up and beginning to get dressed.

Remus picked up the remote and pressed it once.

“Ah, fuck!” Sirius faltered buttoning their jeans up, biting their bottom lip hard.

“Oh good, it works.” Remus turned it off the went to get changed himself.

“You’re awful,” Sirius said, not sounding as if they meant it at all, leaning against the wall.

“What am I?” Remus paused for a moment.

Sirius gave him an innocent look, only it was ruined a little by the mischievous smirk on their lips. “You’re wonderful Daddy.”

“Mmm, sure.” Remus went back to getting ready.

Soon enough they were out the door and in the elevator down to head out to the club. “Are you excited to dance?”

“Mhmm, this place looks good.” Sirius was smiling, looking pretty relaxed now they had regained a bit of their composure. Their cheeks were a little pink but they were leaning against the elevator wall. “Let’s hope the music is good.”

“Yeah, me too. Though anything will be better than our tacky dinner.” Remus kissed them on the cheek as the doors slid open.

“Ha, yeah that was so shit. But this place seems good. Can we walk or is it a little too far?”

“We should probably get a taxi? It’s a little far and it’s kind of cool out.”

Sirius headed out towards the street, pulling Remus along by the hand, their hips swinging a little. “Okay. After your win today we can be luxurious.”

“Yes, we do have the prize money to spend. Though we should save it.” He gave their hand a squeeze.

“Hmm, I suppose. Let’s have this trip first.”

“Deal.” Remus kissed their forehead then hailed a taxi.


	6. Chapter 6

It turned out  _ Therapy _ was pretty good. The music was good and it seemed like a good crowd. Sirius felt like the looks they were getting were  _ good _ instead of the strange looks they got out sometimes. They and Remus had made a beeline for the bar when they arrived and then they’d gone to the dance floor.

“This place isn’t bad, mm?” Sirius threw their arms around Remus’ shoulders, dancing against him.

“Ha, no, I like it.” Remus rubbed a hand up their side.

“There’s no piano though, it’s no jazz bar.” Sirius leaned in, kissing his jawline.

“No, but I get to dance up close against you.” Remus hummed, reaching into his pocket. A second later the plug began to vibrate.

Sirius bit their lip, pressing against Remus. “Ah, fuck, Remus,” they gritted out, leaning up to speak into his ear.

The vibration went up another notch as Remus danced against them. Sirius nipped at his earlobe, swirling their tongue a little as they moaned into his ear. God, they loved dancing with him, and he was wonderful when he was like this, though Sirius could see themselves being desperate to come sooner rather than later. With an arm wrapped around them, Remus rolled his hips then the plug vibrated at a faster rate.

“Ohh, shit,” Sirius breathed, shuddering a little. “That’s not fair.”

“You don’t like it?” Remus kissed down their neck as they continued to dance.

“I like it, a little—ah, a little too much.” Sirius tipped their chin back, dancing against Remus, grinding their hips against his.

“Yeah?” The plug was pushed to its highest setting.

“Ah! Remus!” Sirius moaned, tilting their head to nip at his jaw. “Do you want me to come on this dance floor?”

The plug went off and Remus held them, letting out a little laugh as he continued to dance.

Sirius grinned, shaking their head a little. “You’re awful,” they muttered into his ear, dancing against him a little more. They had a feeling Remus was going to torture them tonight, and they were torn between being good to make it as easy as possible, or dancing against him and making it harder for him too.

“I am?” The plug went back on to its highest setting.

“Yeah,” Sirius said, swallowing another moan. “You are. You’re so fucking hot.”

“You are.” Remus’ hands went to their back, the plug still vibrating away.

Sirius was determined not to let their knees buckle, digging their fingers into Remus’ shoulders as the vibrations coursed through them. “I bet—I bet you really love this, hm?”

“I do, I love knowing you’re feeling this way because of me.” Remus kissed their neck.

“Yeah? Feeling what way? Like I could come any second except I don’t want to because I’d rather it be you?”

“Yeah that way.” Remus nipped at their neck.

“Mhmm.” Sirius ground their hips against Remus’ a little harder, trying to concentrate on dancing and not the plug.

The plug turned off again and Remus bit down on their neck.

Sirius moaned, rolling their hips. “Hickeys—ah, in here?” They murmured into his ear, eyes fluttering shut.

“Want me to not?”

“Why would I ever want that? Just means you’ll have to be extra nice to me at the hotel.”

Remus pulled back raising an eyebrow. “Extra nice at the hotel because I gave you a hickey?”

“Because you’re being very mean. You  _ know _ how I like your hickeys.” Sirius canted their hips against Remus’ thigh.

“I’m being mean? You just said you like my hickeys.” His hands went down and squeezed their arse.

“You know what I mean,” Sirius said, their voice pitching at the end at the pressure against the plug, instinctively grinding back against his hands. “Fuck.”

“I do?” Remus smirked, tilting his head a little.

Sirius rolled their eyes; he was awful but they loved it. “I think so. Know so, really. Because of that little smirk.” They slid one hand from his shoulder and tapped their finger against his bottom lip.

“Let’s get another drink.” Remus pulled back from them and took their hand.

“Whatever you want Daddy,” Sirius said, bringing his hand up to kiss his knuckles. He had been climbing a lot the past few days so they were more scuffed than usual but Sirius just loved that even more.

“Why don’t you buy the drinks? There’s a little booth open right there? I’ll grab it.” Remus kissed their temple.

Sirius gave him a look, sure he was doing this on purpose. “Of course,” they said, willing to bet a large amount Remus was going to turn the plug on just as soon as they opened their mouth to order drinks. “Whisky?”

“Sure.” Remus nodded before going off to the booth.

They watched him for a moment before making their way through towards the bar, willing down their arousal even though they were ridiculously turned on. The bar was a little crowded despite it being a Sunday night but Sirius was at the front soon enough.

Just as Sirius leaned forward to get the bartender’s attention the vibration went off. They dug their fingers into the bar top and closed their eyes for a moment.  _ Fuck. _ Oh Remus better have something deliciously nice planned for later, they thought before quickly realising the bartender was looking at them expectantly. It took a second for Sirius to get the words out but they ordered two whiskies, then as the bartender went off to get them, they glanced over their shoulder towards the booth.

Remus smiled at them, looking the picture of innocence then the vibration was turned all the way up. Sirius glared at him, their eyes widening in a way they hoped said  _ are you fucking kidding me? _ as they bit their lip to stifle a moan.

For a second the vibration went off then back on again then off then on again. Sirius leaned against the bar, torn between laughing and moaning. The bartender set the two whiskies down on the bar and Sirius was too distracted to remember they needed to bloody pay. There were a few times Sirius wished they were telepathic and one of those times was now because they knew if Remus didn’t turn that thing off then they or the whisky wouldn’t make it to the booth.

Instead of turning off it stayed on at the highest setting. Sirius bit their lip, looking over at Remus again. Gingerly, they picked up the two whiskies and started off towards the booth, trying to focus on anything but how turned on they were. Halfway there, the vibrations turned off. Sirius breathed a sigh of relief then quickened their pace, setting the two drinks down on the table with a thud. “You’re awful.”

“I love you too princess.” Remus picked up his whisky and smiled at them.

“You have very selective hearing,” Sirius said as they slid into the booth opposite him. It was only a small booth, so they were close enough to talk over the music.

“I’m ignoring you calling me awful.” Remus sipped his drink.

“Yes you are, despite you being totally awful.” Sirius picked up their own drink. “What if I’d just come right when I was talking to that bartender? He was rather cute.”

“That would have been horribly awkward and I would have been mad because I didn’t say you could come.”

Sirius swallowed the mouthful of their drink, watching him carefully. “Oh of course and it would be my fault, not the holder of the remote,” they said, the teasing note clear in their voice.

“Mmm, he is cute huh?” Remus looked to the bar. “I’m glad the sight of him didn’t drive you over the edge.”

Shaking their head, Sirius followed his eyeline. Now they knew what Dorcas meant when she said she loved Marlene when she was awful. “Mhmm, very cute indeed. Maybe you should order the next drinks or I might end up flirting with him.”

“That’s fine, I don’t care.” Remus slipped his hand into his pocket then the plug vibrated again.

“Fuck, Remus. Christ.” Sirius’ fingers tightened around their whisky glass, dropping their chin down a little. “You—ah, wouldn’t mind? Me flirting with him?”

“You’re coming home with me.” Remus clicked the remote again then went to pick up his glass.

Sirius shivered at both the tone of his voice and the vibrations, swallowing down a groan. “I suppose.”

“You suppose you are?” Remus raised an eyebrow. “Well, you could bring him home if you’re  _ that _ interested, but you’re coming home with me.”

Sirius opened their mouth to say something like  _ yeah, what if the bartender and I really hit it off? _ just to tease Remus but then his words sunk in and they spluttered over their sip of whisky. “What?”

Remus just chuckled taking another drink.

Sirius shook their head, laughing as they looked back to the bar. “Nah, he won’t be a patch on you.”

“No, he is hot though. It’d be interesting to see you with him I think.”

“Yeah?” Sirius could feel their cheeks flushing warm as they wriggled in their seat, moaning softly at the movement of the plug. They bit their lip, watching Remus. “What would Daddy let me do with the hot bartender?”

“Hmm, I think watching you fuck him might be hot. He couldn’t fuck you though, you’re all mine.” Remus smirked.

“What would you do? Just watch?” Sirius drank the last of their whisky, leaning forward a little. They were trying to talk themselves down from just rocking their hips against their seat.

“Hmm, probably tell you what to do while you’re with him as I watch.” Remus clicked the remote again for a higher setting.

The angle of the plug combined with the stronger vibration made Sirius’ leg quiver just a little as a moan slipped from their lips. “Yeah? You’d like that. You think I’d—think I’d listen?”

“You have to listen, don’t you?” He leaned on the table.

Sirius raised a challenging eyebrow, leaning in closer to him.

“What’s it say on your bracelet?” He knocked back the rest of his whisky.

“Hmm?” Sirius glanced at the silver band around their wrist. It was blank on the outside but they both knew it said  _ Property of Daddy _ on the inside. They grinned back at Remus, shrugging a shoulder. “It’s blank, isn’t it?”

Without a word Remus clicked the remote to its highest then slid out of the booth. “I’ll go get us another.”

“ _ Fuck _ ,” Sirius said, half to themselves as they put their forehead on the table and stifled a chuckle. They knew they were being a bit of a brat tonight but that was half the fun, wasn’t it?

When Sirius looked up Remus was at the bar, leaning against it with a soft smile. Sirius knew the look on his face well enough and they bit their lip, watching him. To an extent, it surprised them how little they were jealous, because they didn’t care Remus was going to flirt with the bartender. He was coming home with them after all. Besides, the bartender  _ was _ hot. It was just easy to get distracted by the sensations of the plug and  _ that smile _ .

The bartender came over to Remus and he smiled and said something that made the bartender laugh. They chatted for a moment, and the bartender  _ flushed _ before he went off to get the drinks. Sirius squirmed again, wondering what Remus had said. They knew all the filthy things he hid beneath that persona. They almost wished they were up there too, giving the bartender a look that said  _ see? Isn’t he fucking fabulous? Of course you’re tripping over yourself for him. _

The plug’s vibration turned off just as the bartender came back to Remus with their drinks. The bartender’ fingers lingered for a moment too long on Remus’ hand when Remus handed over the card to pay. Sirius bit their lip, watching so carefully. Remus’  _ hands _ were apparently the one thing they were possessive over, they realised, wriggling a little.

Remus laughed at something when the card was handed back. A moment later Remus headed back over to the table. 

Before Sirius even realised what they were doing they were out of their seat and making a beeline for Remus, grabbing his arm when they came close enough. “Let’s dance.”

“You okay there?” Remus laughed, holding out their glass.

“Fine. I love this song, I wanna dance,” Sirius replied, taking their glass and sipping their drink. “C’mon, I wanna dance with you.”

“Oh sure.” Remus nodded and started to the floor. Sirius took his free hand in theirs, weaving through the crowd to find a space. If that space happened to be conveniently within eyeline of the bar, then so be it. “Are  _ you _ jealous?”

Sirius bit their lip, their hand going to his waist. “Maybe a  _ little _ .”

“Aww, that’s sweet.” Remus snickered as he started to move to the music. “He asked what I was doing later.”

“What did you tell him?” Sirius danced against him, their head on his shoulder so they could kiss the base of his throat.

“I said if my spouse could come with then maybe we could get a drink.”

Sirius grinned, nipping his neck. “Was that when he blushed bright red?”

“No, he blushed when I told him that you thought he was good looking and I agreed.” Remus chuckled.

“Ha. How out of his depth do you think he’d be if we asked him back?” Sirius wasn’t even sure if they’d  _ want _ to shag the hot bartender but it was fun to play around with it with Remus.

“He probably would combust because he was so flustered.” Remus rubbed their back.

“Especially if I said I wanted to fuck him.” Sirius glanced along the bar as they rolled their hips against Remus’.

“Ah, yeah.” His hands came down to rest low on their hips.

Sirius hummed in agreement, biting at the base of his neck a little harder. “I think you like that idea.”

“Mmm, yeah?” Remus pulled them even closer.

“Mhmm. I think you’d really like telling me how to fuck the hot bartender.” Sirius rolled their hips again, swirling their tongue over the reddening mark on his neck. They were half-looking for the bartender, just to see if he were looking for Remus, but really it was hard to care when they were dancing with him like this.

“I would.” His hand went up to the small of their back. “It’d be so hot.”

“Yeah? Are you imagining it right now?”

“Mmm, yeah, are you?” Remus let out a soft noise.

Sirius nipped at his neck again. “Yeah I am. I know his mouth isn’t as pretty as mine but I think it’d still be good.” They glanced along the bar again, finally spotting the bartender, who was looking towards them. Even across the room Sirius saw his eyes widen a little and the flush across his cheeks deepen before he looked away.

“Yeah, I think so too.” Remus hummed. “Want to go back?”

“To the hotel?” Sirius watched him for a moment longer, pressing close to Remus, before biting at his throat again.

“Yeah, of course. I just need to be inside you right now.”

Sirius groaned, shivering slightly. “Yeah, okay.”

“We can say bye to the cute bartender on the way out.” Remus grabbed their hand and stepped back.

“If you insist,” Sirius said, grinning. They pressed a kiss to his knuckles.

Remus pulled them towards the exit by way of the bar. Sirius followed after him, grinning ear to ear. Now they’d been talking and teasing all night, they were quite eager to get back to the hotel too.

As they got closer to the bar the hot bartender caught their eye again. “Say goodbye princess.” Remus nudged them.

Sirius bit their lip, leaning their elbows on the bar and giving the bartender a heated look. He really was quite cute. They grabbed a pen from the bar and motioned the bartender closer, taking his hand. Smirking at him, they wrote the address of their hotel on the back of his hand, then the room number, and an x.

“Come on.” Remus tugged on their hand.

The bartender looked completely awestruck as he read Sirius’ handwriting. Sirius chuckled and let Remus pull them away, giving the bartender a coy look as they started towards the door.

“Let’s get back now.” Remus kissed their cheek.

“Someone is impatient,” Sirius said, grinning as they hailed a taxi.

Remus practically shoved them into the taxi then dragged them out at the other end, ushering Sirius through reception towards the elevators. Sirius was chuckling as they tumbled out on their floor, starting down to their room. Just as Sirius stepped off the elevator, Remus turned the vibration high.

“Ah, Christ.” Sirius grabbed his hand, pulling him down the hallway. “Someone is  _ very  _ impatient.”

“I’m surprised you’re not undoing your jeans before we get to the room.” Remus took out their keycard.

“You’re the one who dragged me out of the club, darling,” Sirius murmured, pressing up against him, running their hands over his shoulders.

“Darling?” Remus opened the door then practically pushed Sirius inside.

“ _ Daddy _ ,” Sirius replied sweetly, hitting the lights.

“That’s right.” Remus grabbed them around the waist then pinned them up against the wall of the entryway.

“Ahh, god.” Sirius wrapped their arms around his shoulders, arching against him. “Would I call you Daddy whilst I fuck the hot bartender?”

“Yeah, of course.” Remus reached down to undo the button of their jeans.

“Yeah?” Sirius tangled their hands in his hair, canting their hips forward. “Buried in him and still wanting to make you happy? How’d you want me to fuck him, Daddy? Fast? Slow?”

“Oh, start nice and slow princess.” Remus pushed their jeans and briefs down over their hips. “Heels off.”

“Don’t you want me to keep them on?” Sirius wriggled their jeans and underwear down, grinning.

“I do but you need to get your jeans off first.” Remus wrapped a hand around them, reaching into his pocket for the remote.

Sirius groaned, tipping their head back against the wall as they slipped their heels off.

“Thank you princess.” Remus clicked the vibration off finally.

“Mm you’re very welcome Daddy.” Sirius sank against the wall a little now the torrent of vibrations had stopped.

“Everything off then the heels back on, come on.” He nodded in their direction then went to take his own shirt off.

Sirius laughed. “You’re so impatient tonight. I’d think  _ you’d _ been the one with the plug in all night.” They kicked their jeans all the way off, drawing their shirt off too.

“I’ve been thinking about it all night then I was thinking about you fucking the bartender.” He kicked off his shoes.

“Yeah? Maybe he’ll come by when his shift is over.” Sirius tossed their shirt to the side, slipping their heels back on.

“You think?” Remus got out of his bottoms then crowded Sirius against the wall.

Sirius grinned, arching against him. “Yeah. I think he seemed interested, don’t you?”

Remus nodded, pulling Sirius’ legs up towards his waist. “He was, he was all flustered and cute, huh?”

“Mhmm.” Sirius grabbed the doorframe next to them, lifting up enough to wrap their legs high around Remus’ waist. “He was. All flushed and sweet.”

“He wouldn’t know what to do if we got him in here.” Remus’ hand went down to their hip.

“Yeah. Ah, hurry up.” Sirius ducked their head, kissing Remus’ jaw and the spot beneath his ear. “I’d take good care of him though.”

“You would, you’d be very sweet to him.” Remus’ fingers went to the base of the plug.

“Yeah, yeah,” Sirius breathed, biting the reddening bruise on Remus’ throat. “Hurry up.”

Remus carefully pulled the plug out. “Okay?”

Sirius moaned, suddenly feeling so empty and  _ bereft _ after all that sensation all night. “Yes, yes, hurry up.”

There was a clatter of the plug on the ground then two of Remus’ fingers pressed into them. “Shit, you’re still so slick and open.”

“Ah, fuck. Yeah I am, just for you Daddy.” Sirius bit their lip, tightening their legs around Remus’ waist.

“I could fuck you and come in you then put the plug back in and make you wait even more.” Remus slid a third finger in easily.

Another moan slipped from Sirius’ lips, digging their fingers into his shoulders. “God, yeah.”

“Yeah?” Remus removed his fingers and a moment later he moved, adjusting his grip on Sirius’ hip. “You’d want to wait? You’ve waited all night.” The head of his cock pressed against them.

Sirius ground their hips against his. “Ahh, fuck. I just want you in me.”

Remus sank into them, letting out a long groan. “Shit, you feel so good.”

“Ohh god, fuck.” Sirius moaned sharply, shuddering. Everything felt so sensitive after the plug all night.

“Shit you feel so good. I’ve been thinking about being inside you all night. If the bartender came back with us, I would have fucked you while you were inside of him.” Remus started to move his hips quickly.

“Yeah, yeah.” Sirius gripped tight onto his shoulders. “That would be so hot.”

“It would, wouldn’t it?” He groaned, backing them against the wall harder, shifting to be able to thrust harder and deeper.

Sirius was sure they’d have bruises all along their spine as they met his thrusts. “Yeah, so fucking hot. Fuck, you feel so good.”

Remus’ free hand went up to their hair, pulling the base of it as he fucked them harder.

“Ah, fuck.” Sirius tipped their head back, raking their nails over Remus’ shoulders. “Are—ah—are you close?”

“Yeah, fuck.” Remus moaned, burying his face in the crook of their neck.

Sirius shuddered, their body trembling a little. “Fuck, c’mon, c’mon.”

“You first, princess.” Remus bit down on their neck.

“Ah, god.” Sirius tightened one arm around his shoulders so they could shift the other to wrap their fingers around their cock, stroking quickly.

“Come on, come for me princess. Come for Daddy.” Remus’ grip on their hip tightened as his hips slammed into them.

Sirius came with a sharp noise at the back of their throat, their muscles going taut as they clenched their eyes shut, the world going white around the edges. Only two thrusts later, Remus came with a loud moan.

“Oh shit.”

“Yeah,” Sirius breathed, their legs quivering around Remus’ waist.


	7. Chapter 7

Remus practically collapsed onto the bed, feeling completely blissed out. “That was great -- fucking fantastic.”

Sirius sprawled out next to him, still breathing hard. “Yeah, so fucking good.”

“What are we going to do if this bartender comes over?” Remus laughed, remembering the whole experience at the club.

“Oh god… we either let him in and have a wild threesome or we turn the lights off and pretend we’re not here.” Sirius chuckled, kissing his shoulder.

Remus nodded, turning to look at them. “Would you ever…”

Sirius quirked an eyebrow. “Shag the hot bartender? I guess? I don’t think he’s gonna turn up.”

“In general, a threesome, would you? Have you?” Remus wondered.

“Mm nah. I would, I think, but I haven’t before.” Sirius rolled onto their front to peer at him. “Have you?”

Remus nodded, wriggling up a little to sit against the pillows. “I have.”

Their eyebrows shot up. “ _ Have you? _ ”

“Ha, yes.” Remus flushed a little.

“What was it like? Who with?” Sirius was grinning ear to ear, wriggling to sit up a little straighter.

“Well, I was really drunk and my scale was tipped hard that way, you know?” Remus shrugged a shoulder. “Ah, you know Gideon?”

“Yes! You had a threesome with Gideon?! Who else?”

“His girlfriend, Amelia. It was a drunken experience after a Christmas party and it was interesting and we’ve never spoken about it again.” Remus snorted a laugh.

“Oh my god. So now obviously we need to have a  _ good _ threesome experience.” Sirius grinned, kissing the corner of his mouth.

“If you wanted to, yeah.” Remus bit his lip. “Let’s just not do it with someone we know. It was a little weird after for us for a little while.” He snickered.

“Oh I bet. I won’t be able to look at Gideon for a while.” Sirius laughed. 

“He really wanted to be fucked that night and I guess they don’t know anything about strapons.” He chuckled rubbed his face.

Sirius grinned, their cheeks a little pink. “Listen if there was a choice between a dick,  _ your _ dick and a strap on I know what I’d pick.” Sirius leaned over to grab a water bottle from the side. “I dated a transman for a while and even the super fancy do-everything dicks aren’t a scratch on yours.”

“Oh, yeah?” He laughed kissing their cheek. “I know you love my dick so much.”

“Yeah I do. Especially when you throw me up against the wall of our hotel room.” Sirius grinned, leaning into him.

“Ha, you like being fucked against the wall, we haven’t done that in a bit.” Remus kissed their shoulder.

Sirius sighed, cuddling against his side. “Mm, I know. You like it too.”

“I do, I like everything we do.” Remus brushed a hand through their hair.

“Mhmm, me too. Except the tickling, obviously.”

“Yes, you haven’t been tickled in a while.” He put an arm around them.

“I’ve been on my best behaviour Daddy,” Sirius said in their sweetest voice, smiling.

“Hmm, sure princess.”

“Mhmm. I’m always on my best behaviour.” Sirius’ voice had gone a little soft.

“That’s a lie.” Remus scoffed.

“But you like when I’m a brat.”

“I do.” Remus kissed their temple. “Would you be a brat if we had a threesome or would you listen?”

“Hmmm, I guess I would listen. But you like me pushing, so maybe you’d have to ask nicely for some things.”

“Like what things?” Remus questioned curiously as he cuddled against them.

“I dunno. Depended on what you’d want me to do, I guess? I know you hate it when I say how bad your manners are, Daddy.”

“Well, I don’t have to ask nicely, but maybe I would if someone else was around.” Remus rubbed their back.

“Would you let the other person tell me what to do too?” Sirius propped their chin on their palm.

“No, only I get to tell you what to do.” Remus shook his head.

Sirius grinned wide. “Of course Daddy.”

“You wouldn’t listen to anyone else anyway.” Remus kissed them softly.

Sirius kissed back, humming in agreement. “Mmhm, I only listen to you, and only when I feel like it.”

“Or when I make you.” Remus gave them a little swat on the thigh.

“Ha! Or when you make me, yes.” Sirius kissed the corner of his mouth.

“Did you like the plug?”

“Mhm, I did. Fucking sensitive now though. You with that remote is dangerous. You know when you wore it before we didn’t even  _ get _ to the highest setting?”

“I know, but you know you like it more than me.” Remus yawned.

“And you’re a sadist,” Sirius said with a big grin a moment before they stifled their own yawn.

“Mmm.”

Remus drifted off to sleep a few moments later, his eyes feeling heavy.

At some point, when the sun was streaming through the curtains, Remus woke up to the sound of the shower. He rubbed his face, sitting up and looking towards the glass shower in the middle of the space.

Sirius had their head tipped up to the big rain shower, their eyes closed. The glass of the shower, somehow, was fogging up just a little, but not too much. As Sirius turned away a little under the water, Remus saw a little line of bruises down their spine and what looked suspiciously like his handprint on their hip. He laughed softly as he got out of bed and padded over to the shower.

“Morning my pearl.” Remus smiled as he opened the glass door and slipped inside.

Sirius opened their eyes, smiling at him. “Morning caro.”

“You’ve some pretty bruises.” He kissed their forehead before reaching for their shampoo.

“Have I?” Sirius pressed a kiss to his wrist. “I haven’t seen yet.”

“Mmmhmm, down your back and on your hip.” He uncapped the shampoo. “Turn around I’ll wash your hair.”

“Thank you,” Sirius murmured, turning a little.

“Our bartender never came by.” Remus joked as he massaged their hair to lather up toe shampoo.

Sirius made an unhappy noise. “I know, poor thing was missing out.”

“I think we scared him.”

“I suppose it’s not every day you get propositioned for a threesome by two Brits whilst at work.”

“I almost feel bad for chatting up a person at work.” Remus went to rinsing Sirius’ hair.

Sirius glanced at him over their shoulder. “You’ve never been flirted with at work?”

“Well, yeah, I have more than a few times, but it’s still weird, isn’t it?” Remus laughed.

“Oh yeah, totally.” Sirius let out a sigh. “Hmm, you’re good at this.”

“You tell me I’m good at everything.” He kissed their shoulder before going for the conditioner.

“I already said, I’m on my best behaviour.” Sirius gave him another look over their shoulder, leaning back into him a little. “Though your dancing and ice skating leave a little to be desired.”

“Yeah, I was expecting you to say that.” He snickered.

Sirius just chuckled, tipping their head back onto his shoulder.

“So, a more lowkey day today? Less overtly touristy?

“Mhmm, I’d say so. We can go to some museums maybe.”

“That would be nice. We walked by a nice looking place to eat yesterday nearby. We could do that for dinner. It looked nice.”

“Yeah, and this is technically your birthday weekend, so what do you wanna do?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure. I think a museum or two will be nice. Maybe we can look at some of those cute looking boutiques down the way then we can do dinner and come back here.” Remus rinsed out the conditioner.

“Mmm, that sounds nice.” Sirius’ voice was all soft, their body leaning against his warm from the shower.

Remus smiled, wrapping his arms around them. “I love you.”

“I love you too caro.”

They finished showering then dressed and ventured out into the world. They stopped a cute little place for a quick breakfast then headed to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Sirius did their usual thing of making up ridiculous stories about the paintings and Remus had to hold it together. Then they headed over to the Guggenheim and did something similar. Remus spent most of the day trying not to laugh, but having the best time.

When they were done with the museum they strolled through Central Park again. They took some Instagram pictures and happened upon Strawberry Fields. Once they were done they did a little shopping at some boutiques. 

They found a boutique that seemed very up Sirius’ street, and true to form Sirius dragged Remus in, looking around with wide eyes. 

“Ha, what?” Remus chuckled, leaning into them.

“I like all of this stuff. Look at that shirt! Ah, and this skirt?” Sirius gestured to a plaid skirt with a slit and what looked like a garter or strap of some kind attached.

“I love that.” Remus could see Sirius wearing that in his head and he liked it  _ a lot _ .

“Me too! Ah, with my vintage Bowie shirt and boots? I’m gonna try it on.” Sirius threw the skirt over their arm and continued looking down the racks.

Remus followed after them, glancing around. The shop seemed to be made for Sirius because it reminded Remus of their wardrobe at home. “That’d be a great look.”

Sirius shot them a grin over their shoulder. “It would, wouldn’t it?”

“Not sure how I’m going to keep my hands off you in it, but that’s okay.” Remus kept his voice low.

“I’m sure you’ll manage, caro.” Sirius smiled, wandering through the shelves, passing by a pair of leather trousers and a distressed looking jumper. “Ooh!”

“Yeah?” Remus laughed. “Thinking about getting some leather trousers?”

“Well, I think my legs would look great in them but actually no I meant  _ that _ .” Sirius gestured to a dress hanging across the way.

“Oh, that’s perfect.” Remus grinned, looking at the long black dress.

Sirius rifled through to find their size then threw the dress over their arm. “I’m trying that on too. This whole shop is so beautiful.”

“I think they made it for you.” He chuckled, put a hand on their back.

“Must’ve done.”

“If you like the dress, you should wear it to dinner tonight.” Remus suggested.

Sirius grinned. “That’s a good idea.” They leaned in and kissed his cheek before starting off towards the fitting rooms. “I’m gonna go try these two on.”

“Okay.” Remus smiled then settled into one of the leather seats near the fitting room.

A few moments later Sirius grabbed the curtain. They were in a black shirt that slipped off one shoulder, and that plaid skirt. The slit just hit the top of their thigh and the lacing stood out against their pale skin.

“Shit.” Remus cleared his throat. “Yeah, get that.”

Sirius grinned, posing a little. “Yeah? Will you get it for me?”

“Yes I will.” He chuckled. “It’s perfect for you. It’s exactly your style.”

“I agree. Okay, the dress now.”

“Okay.” Remus sat back with a smile and they disappeared into the dressing room again.

A few moments later, Sirius pulled back the curtain, wearing the dress. It was long with a slit in either side, and clung to their body just right.

“Oh,” Remus said dumbly. “That’s perfect.”

Sirius turned a little to one side then the other, the dress flowing with their movements. It accentuated their shoulders perfectly too, baring their arms. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. I love it. You look amazing.” Remus smiled.

“I really like it. Right length for heels or boots too.”

“That’d be pretty cool with your boots, the black ones, I think?”

“Mhmm, and leather jacket.”

Remus nodded with a big grin. “Perfect.”

“Okay. I wanna get both of these.” Sirius ran their hand over their waist before stepping back past the curtain.

“Anything you want.” Remus stood up. “I’m going to look around.”

A few minutes later, Remus felt Sirius’ arms around his waist as he was looking through a rack of jumpers. “Hi caro.”

“Hi love, look at that jumper. It’s the same shade as the suit I wore for our wedding.” Remus pointed at it, leaning back against them.

Sirius propped their chin on his shoulder. “Mm, I like that. You should get it.”

“Okay, I will.” Remus put his hand on theirs. “Shall we go pay?”

“Mhmm, and then a wander around before dinner?” Sirius kissed his cheek before pulling back.

“Sounds perfect.”

After paying at the shop, they walked around a little more, poking around other boutiques nearby. Then they went back to the hotel to change quickly before heading to dinner at the cute place Remus had spotted the other night.

With full stomachs and 2 bottles of wine, Sirius and Remus headed back to the hotel room. Remus was feeling happy and satisfied. “I’m so full.” Remus rubbed his stomach as he opened the door.

“So much better than Hard Rock,” Sirius said, leaning against the doorframe.

“Yes.” He opened the door with the keycard then sighed as they got in. “Good day?”

“Mhmm, such a good day.” Sirius padded over to the bed and flopped onto it. 

“Good, me too.” He kicked off his shoes then sat on the bed.

Sirius reached out and patted their hand on his arm. “I suppose we should pack at some point, right?”

“Mmm, yeah, but we have time in the morning.” Remus smiled at them. “You look amazing in that dress. I don’t know if I’ve told you that today.”

“Not in the past five minutes, at least,” Sirius said, grinning up at him. They lifted one leg up in the air, pointing their toes. “Looks good with my boots too.”

“Oh good, just thought you needed to hear it again.” He reached out and ran a hand down their calf. “Looks perfect.”

“I think I  _ always _ need to hear you say that.” Sirius watched him.

“I’ll always tell you.” Remus dropped his hand and leaned down to kiss their forehead.

Sirius chuckled, tilting their head to kiss his neck. “Let me take my boots off first at least.”

“Ha, okay.” Remus snickered, sitting back against the pillows.

Sirius sat up, undoing the laces of their boots and toeing them off so they fell to the floor with a clatter. It wasn’t too cold out so their jacket was already draped over the chair on their way into the room.

“God, this is now my favorite dress.” Remus sighed, watching them.

“Yeah?” Sirius grinned over their shoulder at him, pulling their hair over one shoulder. “Not the other one?”

“The other one has a special place in my heart, but this one is… beautiful.” Remus reached out and rubbed his hand over their back.

“I’m glad you like it.” Sirius leaned back into his touch, bringing their feet up onto the bed.

“I think I’d like anything you wear.” He laughed.

“Do you think you could decide on a favourite outfit of mine, ever?”

“No, never… no wait… the outfit you wore to our wedding. That’s the sentimental favorite forever.” Remus nodded confidently. “But I love everything you wear.”

“Ah, okay, of course my wedding outfit.” Sirius chuckled, shuffling up the bed to him.

Remus rested his head on their shoulder. “You’re stunning even in an old shirt and sweats.”

“Hmm, you’re very sweet.”

He smiled, slipping his arm around their waist. 

Sirius kissed his cheek, cuddling up against him and trailing a hand over his chest. “What do you want to do tonight?”

“Mmm, just this.” Remus’ hand rubbed against their side. “If you want to do something we can. I’m meh.”

“Meh is fine. We can just cuddle. Want to see if there’s something on the telly? We can get room service dessert.”

“Sounds perfect, let’s do that. Why don’t you find something on telly and I’ll look at the menu.” Remus kissed their cheek.

Sirius leaned over and grabbed the remote. “What are you in the mood for?”

“Something funny or romantic. You know my tastes.” He grabbed the menu from the side table.

“Mmhm, I do.” Sirius laughed, shifting so they could wedge their toes beneath his thigh as they flicked through the channels.

Remus grinned then went to look over the menu. “Oh they have a tasting tray.”

“Oooh yes. What is there on it?”

“Mini tarts, cake balls, mini cookies, mini mouse.” Remus looked over at them with a grin.

“Yes, yes, yes and yes.” Sirius grinned back.

“Okay, we’ll do that.”

Sirius pressed away at the remote, then set it down as the opening credits to  _ About Time _ . “I’ve not see this, but it seems very you.”

“Oh, I have… it is very me.” He laughed.

“Of course you’ve seen it. Is there a rom-com you’ve not seen, caro?”

“Probably not.” He picked up the phone to place the order.

After ordering Remus changed into his joggers and an old shirt, but Sirius stayed in their dress. They stated it was too comfy to get out of, and Remus wasn’t going to complain. While they waited they snuggled up and watched the movie. It didn’t take too long for there to be a knock on the door.

“I got it.” Remus kissed them quickly before getting out of bed and heading for the door.

The staff member greeted them and Remus’ eyes went wide at the black cart. On top was a three tiered tray of desserts. There was also a bottle of prosecco, which was complementary according to the man. Remus thanked them and gave them a tip before he rolled the cart in. “Holy shit, Sirius.”

Sirius was sitting up against the pillows. “Oh… fuck. A  _ tasting tray? _ ”

“We’re going to go into a food coma. Also, free prosecco.”

“This is the best. You deserve it caro, after your win.” They patted the bed next to them. “C’mon, let’s dig in.”

Remus grinned and grabbed one of the mini tarts. “This is a good way to celebrate. I’m so glad you could come.”

“Me too.” Sirius leaned in and kissed his shoulder before straightening up. “I have something to show you,” they said as they slipped off the bed and to their bag.

“Oh yeah?” Remus raised an eyebrow, wondering what on earth Sirius had for him.

“Mhmm.” Sirius’ voice sounded a little strange as they rummaged in their bag. A moment later they straightened up and turned back to him, holding out what looked like a whole stack of magazines.

“What’s all that? Have you been looking at houses?” Remus asked, popping a cake ball into his mouth.

Sirius shook their head, holding the brochures out to him. “Not houses, no.”

Remus looked at the brochures in their hands and his eyes widened. “Surrogacy?”

“Yeah, take the fucking brochures will you?” Sirius said, laughing a little as they set the pile into his lap and climbed onto the bed next to him. “There’s a few on adoption too from the place James and Lily got Harry through, because, you know, options.”

“Right.” Remus shuffled through them all. “You’ve been doing research?”

“Yeah, just looking into things.”

“What have you found?” Remus thumbed through one of the brochures on surrogacy.

Sirius shrugged, eating a cake ball. “There are a few options. I know you said surrogacy over adoption, but that’s a thing too. Surrogacy depends on who we pick I guess, like, is it just a random person?”

“I don’t know… It’d be nice to know the person I think.” Remus rubbed the back of his neck. “You’re really ready to think about it?”

“Yeah, I’m ready to think about it. Been thinking for a while.” Sirius turned to him a little, picking up a cookie.

“Awhile?” Remus smiled at them.

“Mhmm, it’s just been in the back of my mind since we spoke about it last.”

“That -- I’m so happy.” Remus let out a long breath. “I mean, we’re nowhere close to making this happen, but I like that we’re trying and working on it.”

“Yeah, we can just talk and think about it.” Sirius smiled, leaning in to take his hand. “Is that alright?”

“It’s perfect.” He kissed their cheek. “I love you and I’m happy to talk and think about it for however long we need.”

“I love you too. Shall we open this prosecco?”

“Yeah, let’s celebrate.” Remus grabbed the bottle.


	8. Chapter 8

Sirius loved their job. Really, they did. New intake was just the most exhausting time of the year and they were sure neither themselves, Marly, Benjy or Hestia had sat down for longer than three minutes in the past week.

It was nearly over though, they only had a few more days to go before they could sleep more than a few hours without schedules and classes whirling through their head. At least new intake didn’t clash with Remus’ birthday this year, and all of the  _ dance widows, _ as James put it, were hanging out together more often, so Sirius didn’t have to worry Remus was at home by himself whenever they were working late.

“Marly?” Sirius called, rifling through the equipment strewn around the edge of the room. “Have you seen my bag anywhere? I had like, five timetables in there and I have no idea where I put it. Did I bring it with me this morning? I must’ve.”

“Yeah, you took it out and put it on the front desk.” Marly glanced over at them.

“Oh fuck, of course I did.” Sirius tutted, standing up and heading out into the reception. The new class were gathering so they had to sort of juke around all the people to get through to the desk, but they found the timetables a moment later. Sirius turned to head back into the studio, already running through things in their head.

“Sirius! Phone!” Benjy called from in the office, and Sirius heard their phone ringing a moment later where it had been left there to charge.

“Yeah hold on!” Sirius ducked their way past a few more people then slipped into the office, plucking their phone from Benjy’s outstretched hand. “Ah, thanks!”

_ Incoming call from Remus  _ 💙

“Hi, caro, how are you?”

“Hello, is this Sirius Lupin-Black?”

Oh. That wasn’t Remus. Sirius frowned, leaning against the desk. “Yeah, that’s me. Who am I speaking to?”

“I’m Nick, I’m a paramedic and I’m currently with your husband. We’re at St. Mungo’s. He’s had an accident while climbing.”

“Oh.” Sirius’ stomach dropped. “Is--er--is he okay? What happened? Can I speak to him?”

“He’s currently being evaluated, but he begged for me to call you and tell you that he was okay.”

“Err--okay.” Sirius grabbed their jacket from the door and began to look around for their shoes. “Okay. I’m--tell him I’ll be there as soon as I can? Is he okay?”

“He told me to also tell you to calm down and that he’s going to be okay.” The paramedic spoke calmly.

Sirius managed a little chuckle. “Of course he fucking did. Christ, okay. I--I have to go talk to--yeah, thank you. I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

“Okay, take your time, don’t rush. It’s going to be okay.” The man’ voice was so pleasant.

“Okay.” Sirius let out a breath, finding their shoes beneath the desk and slipping them on. “Okay, thank you.” They hung up a moment later and shoved their phone in their jacket pocket, turning to go and find Marlene. They had to at least  _ tell _ her they were leaving. 

Marlene was looking over some papers where he had left her. When she looked up she frowned. “What happened?”

Sirius opened and closed their mouth a few times. “I--err… Remus is in hospital?”

“What happened? Is he okay? Do you need a ride?” She stood up quickly, rushing over to them.

“Yeah. Please.” Sirius ran a hand through their hair. “Err, you should stay, the classes. I’ll get… I’ll get an Uber. He had an accident whilst climbing. The guy said he was okay.”

“The guy? Bugger classes, the people we love are more important.” She waved a hand then wrapped them in a hug. “At least let me call Dorky to take you or Hope, oh, we should call Hope.”

“Oh  _ shit _ , yeah we need to call Hope.” Sirius wrapped their arms around her waist, pressing their forehead into her shoulder. They weren’t going to cry. Remus was okay. “I’ll… I’ll call Hope. Are we on the way to the Hospital? Or is it on the same side of town as Hope’s store? I can’t think.”

“We’re on the way, Sirius. Do you want me to call her?” She rubbed their back.

“No, I should do it.” Sirius pulled back, sniffing. They pulled their phone from their pocket and navigated to Hope’s number before hitting  _ Call _ .

“Okay.” Marlene patted their shoulder, watching them for a moment before moving away just a bit for them to call.

“Hello dear,” Hope said as she answered.

Sirius bit their lip. “Hi Hope,” they said, trying to sound as normal as possible. “How are you?”

“Dear, what’s wrong?” She asked right away. “Are you okay?”

“Remus is--err… Remus is in hospital. He--he had an accident whilst climbing. The guy said he was okay.”

Hope took a deep breath. “The guy? What hospital? I’m coming to get you right now.”

“Please. I’m at the studio. The paramedic. He phoned from Remus’ phone. He asked him to apparently. Remus said to tell me to calm down so I am trying to be calm but yeah--yeah I’m at the studio.”

“Okay, that sounds like Remus. I’m sure he’s fine. I’ll be there soon, okay? Let’s not worry yet.”

“Ha, it does, doesn’t it?” Sirius laughed again, rubbing a hand over their face. “Okay, drive safe.”

“Love you, dear. It’s going to be all right.”

“Love you too.”

Soon enough--it felt like an hour and two seconds all at once--Sirius was in the car with Hope, going towards the hospital. They were biting their lip and watching their phone, thankful Hope felt like they didn’t need to make small talk. At the hospital, Sirius made a beeline for the desk, trying to wait up for Hope but also desperate to see Remus. Their mind was running away with what might’ve happened; how injured he might be, what had happened.

They were directed up to a ward and Sirius tried not to just run down the corridor. They burst into the ward, looking around for Remus.

“Sirius,” They heard Remus call, sounding a bit stern. Sirius whipped around towards the sound of his voice, practically running over to Remus, sat up in a hospital bed looking, well…  _ bored _ .

“Remus! Are you okay?”

“Relax, oh god, I just broke my ankle.” Remus shook his head. “You came running in here like I was on my deathbed. I’m all right.”

“ _ Broke your ankle? _ Oh my god, the paramedic didn’t say what you’d done he just said you’d had an accident! I was really worried! What did you do?” Sirius pulled up the chair next to the bed, cringing at the noise of it scraping over the floor.

“I don’t think they can tell you legally. It’s enough I got the bloke to call you before the hospital did.” Remus reached for their hand.

Sirius took his hand instantly and kissed the back of it. “Okay. I’m glad you’re okay.”

“I’m not going to be able to climb for weeks.” Remus groaned.

“Christ, at least you can fucking walk. Do you need a cast? Surgery?”

“Cast, they’re coming to put it on, I think.” Remus glanced around.

Sirius nodded, biting their lip. “What were you doing? Didn’t you have anyone with you? No ropes?”

“I was doing what I always did, and no I did not have anyone with me.” Remus rolled his eyes. “There was a couple climbing nearby though.”

“Fucking hell Remus.” Sirius hit him on the arm with their free hand. “What if no one was around? You always tell everyone not to climb solo! Look at James Franco for Christ’s sake!”

“Oh my god.” Remus laughed loudly. “You’re being dramatic. I’m fine.”

“You’ve broken your ankle, that’s not fine! Did they say how long you’d need the cast for? You’re gonna be out of your mind with boredom. What about work? Oh my god you’re just gonna be at home going slowly insane, aren’t you?”

“Six weeks. I can still work, I just can’t climb. There’s other stuff I can do.” Remus explained.

“Okay.” Sirius took a deep breath, sinking down to rest their forehead against Remus’ arm. “Okay.”

“I’m sorry I gave you a scare.”

Sirius just nodded, staying there for a moment. “It’s okay. So long as you’re okay.”

“My first thought was that you were going to murder me for climbing alone.” Remus grinned.

“Well that’s fucking true, obviously. You utter idiot. Then I’ll murder you for giving me a fright, and then for breaking your bloody ankle.”

“Oh gosh, Sirius Lupin-Black, you left the old lady behind,” Hope’s voice came from behind them.

Sirius jerked upright. “Oh fuck! I’m so sorry Hope, I just ran off!”

“You left my mam behind? Christ, Sirius.” Remus laughed as Hope went over to kiss him on the cheek.

“Sorry!” Sirius ran a hand through their hair, wincing.

“It’s okay, dear, I know you were upset. Remus John, what were you thinking?” She hit his shoulder.

“I was just doing what I always do.” Remus frowned. “Sorry.”

“Well, don’t. What if that couple hadn’t been there, huh?”

“Ah, crawled over to my phone to call the ambulance.” He grimaced as he shifted a little on the bed.

“ _ Crawled! _ ” Sirius buried their face in the crook of Remus’ elbow again.

“Hopped?”

Hope gave a groan from the other side of the bed as Sirius shook their head, making a noise of disbelief. “What if you didn’t have any signal? Or your phone was flat? Or you passed out from blood loss?”

“I’m not bleeding.”

“Well good.” 

Remus huffed a sigh. “I mean I do have a couple of scrapes and bruises, but it’s nothing life threatening.”

“I’m bloody life threatening!” Sirius hit Remus on the arm again, their face still pressed against his arm.

“Will you two relax, please? I’m okay.”

“You fell whilst climbing and broke your ankle Remus, that’s a big deal! If--if your kid went out climbing by themselves like it was no big deal would you be like  _ it’s okay, it’s fine! _ ”

“Well -- no.” Remus bit his lip.

“Kid?” Hope perked up.

“Exactly.” Sirius gave him a stern look, trying to ignore Hope for a moment because a hospital wasn’t the best place for a conversation like this.

“I’m sorry, okay? I won’t climb alone again.” Remus squeezed their hand. “I’m all right though.”

“Good. I’m glad.” Sirius pressed their lips to the back of his hand again, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Are you two going to have a kid?” Hope asked again. “Am I going to be a Grandma?”

Sirius groaned. “We’re thinking about it.”

“Just thinking, mam, don’t get too excited.” Remus gave their hand another squeeze.

“Oh!” Her eyes went wide. “Adoption?”

“This isn’t getting too excited?”

Sirius cleared their throat. “Can we make sure Remus is fine first and maybe out of hospital before we discuss kids some more please?”

“Fine, fine.” She clapped her hands. “But I can’t wait until you have little ones!”

“Mam…”

Sirius bit their lip. They were the one to bring it up, so they deserved it, they supposed. Thankfully, a doctor came over a moment later and Sirius sat back, happy for the change in conversation. Eventually, after the cast was on, and there were a few more tests ran, Remus was discharged. It was past midnight by the time they were Hope’s car back to the flat and Sirius had been up since the early morning working, but they were too on edge to sleep.

Remus tried to insist he was fine up the stairs and didn’t need the crutches the hospital had given him, but Sirius had stood in the doorway and glared until he’d relented. They also had to run Snuffles distraction duty so the dog didn’t just bowl Remus over when he walked through the door. 

“Okay, you go to the bedroom and I’ll make tea. I bet you need something to eat, don’t you? We’ve got leftover Thai in the fridge, I’ll get that.”

“Sounds good.” Remus hopped over to the sofa after setting the crutches against the wall. “Sure you don’t want me to get it? You must be tired.”

“No, don’t be bloody stupid.” Sirius made for the kitchen before pausing and looking over their shoulder. “Take your crutches into the bedroom too thank you. If you fall and break your other ankle I’ll actually kill you.”

“Why can’t I stay on the sofa? I was just in a bed for hours.” Remus complained.

Sirius sighed. “Okay, fine. Just sit, then. The doctor said you needed bed rest, for a  _ week _ .”

“I can be on my crutches and go to work. It’s fine.” He waved a hand.

“He said bed rest! I’ve already text Dorky and Reg and told them you’re off for a week.”

“I’m fine.” Remus huffed. “I am going to go crazy if I have to stay home, you know?”

“I know. It serves you right for climbing by yourself!” Sirius called from the kitchen, putting on the kettle and going about reheating their leftovers.

Remus let out another noise but didn’t have anything to say back. Sirius shook their head, laughing to themselves. He would be a right git about this, they were sure, but the doctor had said rest, and Sirius was going to make sure that happened. They came back through with the tea and leftovers on a tray and Remus was looking suitably annoyed and bored already, on the sofa with his foot propped up.

“Here, caro. Tea and Thai.”

“Thanks.” Remus shifted and reached for the plate on the tray.

Sirius passed him the plate. “You need to rest, caro. You’ll heal quicker if you rest.”

“I don’t get why I can’t just go to work and keep my foot up there.” Remus shrugged then dug in.

“That’s literally the exact opposite of rest, Remus. You need  _ rest _ .”

“I can rest at work.”

Sirius picked up their tea and took a sip, grateful for sitting down in something comfortable for the first time today. “No, you can’t. It wouldn’t surprise me if you found a way to climb despite your cast.”

“You think I could?” Remus looked thoughtful for a moment.

“NO!”

“I bet I could though.” He set the plate down and went for the tea.

“When you’re back at work,  _ next week _ , I’m gonna be checking in with Reg and Dorky and if they say you were even  _ looking _ at the climbing wall, I will literally come and drag you out of there.”

He just laughed into his mug.

“I am serious.” Sirius didn’t even go for the serious-Sirius pun,  _ that _ was how serious they were.

“Oh, you sound very Daddy right there.” Remus took another sip of tea.

Sirius rolled their eyes. “I can when I need to. When Daddy is being a brat.”

Remus rolled his eyes in return. “Princess, calm down, it’s okay.”

“It’s really not, Remus. You need to rest.”

“I am resting.”

“For a week.”

“A couple days.”

“A week, Remus.” Sirius set their tea down. “What do I need to bargain with you over for you to stay on the damn sofa for a week.”

“I don’t know, not sure if there is anything.” Remus yawned.

Sirius bit their lip, watching him for a moment. “Well Marly said the rest of the team can manage, so I can stay home and make sure you rest.”

“No, go to work, I’ll be fine. You’re busy. It’s bad enough you had to take half the day today.”

“Nope.” Sirius popped the  _ p _ , eating a spicy cracker. “I’m staying here with you.”

“Sirius, I’ll feel like shit if you don’t go to work.” Remus frowned.

“I’ll do half days, then. Just for the sessions I need to, then come home and if you’re not in bed or on the sofa I’ll be really mad.”

“ _ Days _ ? Sirius! You need to go to work. Don’t stay home. I swear I’ll stay in bed, but don’t take the days.” He shifted to look at them better.

“Half days, caro.”

“Sirius, no.” Remus’ voice was stern.

Sirius shivered a little, feeling the bit of them that listened to Remus snapping to attention. They tried not to squirm in their seat. “Remus.”

“No, you’re not staying home even half days to watch me sit in bed,” he continued on in a firm tone.

“If I don’t, you won’t stay in bed.” Sirius ate another cracker. “Besides, what if I don’t just watch you. What if I was, waiting on you, remember what we talked about at the hotel?”

Remus raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I remember but… you’re not going to stay and wait on me hand and foot when you could be working.”

“It’s been manic at work for the past week. I think waiting hand and foot on you would be a rest compared to work.”

“What if we make a deal?” Remus furrowed his brow in thought.

“We can negotiate. What’s your deal?”

“You stay home tomorrow and Monday then take two half days then you go back to work regularly.”

Sirius bit their lip, thinking. “I’ll stay home Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Half day Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.”

“Nope. Stay home Sunday and Monday. Half day Tuesday and Wednesday. Regular work on Thursday and Friday.” Remus folded his arms.

“Stay home Sunday, Monday, half day Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Regular work Friday, Saturday.”

“I’m not going to get you to go in a regular day on Thursday, am I?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Nope. I want half days until Friday, but  _ I _ know how to compromise.” Sirius smiled back at him.

“Fine.” Remus stood up carefully. “Deal.”

“Sit down, where are you going?” Sirius shoved the tray aside and stood up. “Deal, off until Monday, half days ‘til Thursday.”

“I’m going to bed!” Remus threw a hand up and started to hop down towards the bedroom.

‘Take your crutches!” Sirius called after him.

Remus just hopped along to the room, not listening to them.

“Fine, I’m half days until Friday!”

“Thursday!” Remus shouted from their bedroom.

“I’ll do Thursday if you let me tie your crutches to your hands.” Sirius shoved the leftovers in the kitchen, making sure Snuffles had his food and water.

“I’m already in our room. You want me to come out there?”

“No!” Sirius patted Snuffles on the way past, grabbing Remus’ crutches. “You just get into bed, I’ll bring them in so in the morning or in the night you can actually  _ use _ them.”

“Yes princess.”

Sirius went into the bedroom, fully expecting to see Remus trying to tidy up, or something equally ridiculous. He was sprawled on the bed half undressed with his shirt balled up on the floor. With a little noise of pity, Sirius set the crutches by the nightstand and sat on the bed next to him. “Hi caro.”

“Hi.” He sat back up.

Sirius leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Shall I help?”

“No, I can do it.” Remus picked up the shirt that was on the bed.

“So you don’t want me to undress you?” Sirius said with a grin, tilting their head.

“Okay.” Remus stopped what he was doing.

“Oh, see there we go.” Sirius chuckled, kneeling up as they hooked their fingers through the waistband of his sweatpants, tugging them down.

“I’m so fucking tired now.” Remus yawned loudly.

“Almost as if you’ve injured yourself and your body is trying to rest, hmm?” Sirius tugged his sweatpants and underwear off, throwing them to the laundry in the corner. “Do you want pyjamas?”

“Yeah.” Remus nodded, watching them.

Nodding, Sirius crossed over to the dresser and got out Remus’ comfiest pyjamas, the ones he wore when he was ill, and helped him into them. “See it’s much easier when you let me help you, caro.”

“I guess.” Remus sounded reluctant.

Sirius didn’t say anything, just kissed his forehead before they helped him into his shirt. “C’mon, into bed.”

“Okay.” Remus yawned again and moved so he could get under the covers.

Stifling their own yawn, Sirius helped him into bed, pulling the covers carefully up over his foot. “I need to go and shower, I won’t be long, okay?”

“Okay.” Remus nodded. “Don’t fall asleep in the shower.” He laughed.

Sirius chuckled. “I’ll certainly try,” they murmured as they pressed another kiss to his forehead.

They were in the shower for the shortest amount of time possible, just trying to rinse off the day and the fact they were exhausted before they got out, dried off and padded through to the bedroom with the towel around their waist. 

Remus was asleep, one arm up under his head, with his cast poking out from beneath the covers. Sirius couldn’t help but smile softly at the sight of him, glad he was okay despite the fright they had gotten. With a sigh, they slipped into bed next to him, careful not to jostle him, and was asleep before they could think on anything else.


	9. Chapter 9

Waking up, Remus forgot for a few moments that he was one ankle down for a few weeks until he turned on to his stomach and hit his hurt ankle. “Fuck.”

“You okay?” Sirius said almost instantly, a hand falling on his shoulder.

“I’m fine, just forgot.” Remus shifted to get comfortable again. He really did make a stupid mistake solo climbing. It could have gone terribly wrong, but at least it was only his ankle -- even if it was going to be a pain and Sirius was going to be stressed and watchful for days.

Sirius made a sympathetic noise, their hand rubbing over his shoulder. “Do you want painkillers?”

“No, I’m fine.” Remus shook his head.

“If you’re in pain you can take the meds, Remus.”

He rolled his eyes. He was in pain, but he would be fine if he just relaxed. “It’s fine.”

Sirius tutted. “Okay. I have coffee, do you want some?”

“No, I’m good for now.” Remus shuffled into his pillows a little.

“I love you,” Sirius murmured. Remus heard them setting down their coffee cup and then felt them press a kiss to his shoulder. “Grumpy.”

“Love you too. I’m not grumpy.” Remus pouted a little.

“Oh sure, of course not.” Sirius kissed him lightly. “That pout definitely doesn’t say grumpy.”

“You could go to work and get away from the grump.” He snickered against their lips.

Sirius snorted a laugh. “Absolutely not. You are the world’s worst patient, you need 24/7 monitoring.”

“I’ll just lay here in bed being grumpy. No need to monitor.”

“Mm, my bullshit detector is going off. I think you’ll go to the sofa, and then you’ll get bored and try to tidy, or cook something, or take Snuffles out for a walk, and then you’ll slip and fall and break your other ankle.”

“You really don’t trust me, huh?” Remus looked up at them with a raised eyebrow.

Sirius grinned. “No. I know how devious your brain is.”

“Okay, okay.” He moved to sit up a little. “Fine. I give in and will let you babysit me.”

Sirius gave him a smug smile. “Thank you Daddy.” They kissed him again before sitting up. “Hey, if you stay in bed all day today, perhaps I can ask Marly to borrow her nurse’s outfit for tomorrow.”

“Oh yeah?” Remus smirked.

“Mhmm.” Sirius bit their lip, picking up their coffee. “Or maybe my tiny skirt. Only if you stay in bed and  _ rest _ though.”

“You really are trying to bribe me, huh?” Remus reached for his phone.

“Yep. If these are the measures I have to resort to, Remus, then I will.”

“You’re desperate.”

“I’m dealing with a Dom who knows how to trick me into things.”

“Aren’t you playing with fire if you are waiting on me and doing things I ask you to do?” He reached over and took Sirius’ coffee so he could have a sip.

Sirius rolled their eyes. “Probably, yes. But if it gets you to stay in bed and rest, I’ll do it. Even if I have to tie you here myself and get punished for it. I don’t care, you’re staying in bed and resting.”

“You wouldn’t tie me up.” Remus handed their coffee back.

“Wouldn’t I?”

“You’d be getting punished, that’s for sure.”

“I know I would… once I untie you, anyway.” Sirius smiled, shrugging a shoulder. “But you’d also be resting.”

“Don’t even think about it.” Remus shook his head.

Sirius didn’t answer, just smiling at him over the top of their coffee mug.

“You’ll be tickled so much and so hard you’ll cry.” Remus narrowed his eyes.

“Once I untie you.”

“You know I don’t like being tied up.”

Sirius’ smile softened a little. “I know. I won’t.”

“Promise?” The last time Sirius tied him up he was not a fan.

“Promise.” Sirius looked very earnest for a moment.

“I’m sure you can figure out other ways to keep me in bed.”

Sirius chuckled. “Maybe you can just stay in bed because you know that’s the right thing.”

“It’s very boring though.” He made a face. “I don’t even have any new books to read.”

“You can go wild on the Kindle store, how about that?” Sirius smiled, snuggling down the bed a little. “And I’m sure if you stay in bed I can find ways to keep you amused.”

“Are you going back to sleep?”

“Mm, I’m pretty awake, so maybe not.” Sirius hummed, biting their lip. “Well, I might end up drifting off later, because this week has been mad. But I’m awake. You need anything?”

“No, you sleep. I didn’t help the week by getting hurt then keeping you up late.” Remus unlocked his phone. He had a million messages from everyone checking in on him.

Sirius stifled a yawn. “Intake week is always mad.”

“You worked a lot, barely saw you.” Remus reached over and brushed a hand through their hair as he started to reply to the messages.

“Mm, I know. Sorry I couldn’t come climbing with you.” Sirius set their head on his shoulder, half watching him, their eyes heavy.

“It’s okay.” Remus kissed their top of their head. He really felt horrible for doing that to Sirius. The idea of the hospital calling Sirius and telling them that Remus was injured was nearly as painful as the broken ankle. “Go back to sleep.”

“If I wake up and you’re not in bed I’ll be real mad,” Sirius murmured.

“What if I have to go to the bathroom?” Remus asked softly with a laugh.

Sirius made a grumpy sounding noise but didn’t say anything, throwing their arm across his stomach.

Remus snickered rubbing soft circles on their back as he continued the effort of replying to messages. He took a picture of his current position with Sirius draped across him to show the world he was being cared for well then set aside his phone and slipped off into a nap.

When Remus stirred a while later, it was to the smell of fresh coffee, waffles and bacon. When he opened his eyes he found Sirius carrying in a tray. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, moving to sit up. “Smells good.”

“Mm, good. It’s a little close to lunch for brunch, but we can just skew the times a little. I didn’t want to wake you.” Sirius set the tray on the bed and carefully sat down next to him.

Remus moved to kissed them but hissed as a sharp pain ran through his ankle. “Shit, ow.”

Sirius reached over, putting their hand on his thigh. “Y’okay? There’s pain meds here. Will you take some this time?”

“I’m okay, I just can’t move it a certain way.” Remus put his hand over theirs and gave it a squeeze.

“Okay well please take the meds anyway. You are literally the worst patient.” Sirius leaned over and grabbed two pills from the tray and practically forced them into Remus’ hand.

“I don’t need them though.” Remus laughed. “It doesn’t hurt right now.” Well, there was a dull ache but he could live with it.

Sirius gave him maybe the sternest look he’d ever seen from them. “Remus, take the damn pills. Please. For me.”

“For you?” Remus reached for a piece of bacon with his free hand.

“For me, Daddy.” Sirius knocked his hand back, pressing a glass of water into his other hand.

“No, you don’t get to Daddy me over this.” He set the water down then went for the bacon again.

“Yes I do I have no shame.” Sirius leaned in and kissed the corner of his mouth. “Pretty please take the pills, for me Daddy. I promise if you do I’ll be really good all day and do whatever you like.”

“I still don’t get why I’d be taking them for you. How’s that meant to benefit you?” Remus ignored their Daddy talk.

“Because I don’t like seeing you in pain and it makes me unhappy. You don’t want to make me unhappy do you?”

Remus sighed and groaned. “I’m only in pain if I move it a certain way, I’m okay.”

“Remus! Do you really want to make me upset? Why don’t you want to take them?”

“I don’t need them!” Remus rolled the pills in his hand.

“You’re in pain! Would you rather not be able to move an inch and be stuck here, or do you want to take the pills and be able to sit up and eat breakfast—that’s getting cold—and rest properly?”

“I am sitting up! You’re the one not letting me eat!”

Sirius made a frustrated noise and sat back against their pillows. “Fine.”

“Thank you.” Remus set the pills down then went to grab the bacon — finally. “Thank you for breakfast.”

“Mhmm.” Sirius picked up their coffee and took a gulp.

“Why are you so upset about this? I’m okay, love.” Remus swallowed his bacon then went for the waffle.

“You said you’re in pain and I can see it on your face. I just don’t understand. But fine, I can’t force you.” 

“I’m really okay, it’s not bad at all. Come eat, come on.” Remus held out one of the plates of waffles.

Sirius gave him a look but took the plate and started eating, drinking their coffee as they did.

“Stop being upset, please.” Remus frowned as he finished his waffle.

“Okay, I’m not upset with you,” Sirius said around a mouthful of waffle.

“You’re not?” Remus raised an eyebrow as he drank his coffee.

“Frustrated, not upset.”

“I’m sorry, Sirius but it’s my body I should know when I need the pain meds, right?”

“Unless you’re the kind of person who pretends everything is fine and doesn’t listen to their own body.” Sirius set their empty coffee mug down with a sigh. Remus bit his lip because he was that person and Sirius knew it. “Right.” Sirius ran a hand through their hair. “But it’s fine. You know when you’re in pain.”

“You’re going to be frustrated with me if I don’t take them though.”

“Probably,” Sirius said lightly.

“Wouldn’t you rather be working instead of guilt tripping me into taking pain meds I don’t need?” Remus let out a little laugh, reaching for the pills.

Sirius’ head whipped up to look at him. “I’d rather be here looking after you because you’re injured but if you’re gonna be like that.”

“I know you care but I’m okay.”

“Okay.” Sirius got out of bed, leaned over to kiss him on the forehead and straightened up. “If you’re okay, I’ll just go and do some work from next door and be unneeded because you’re fine and perfectly okay to get everything you need.”

“Stop being like that.” Remus furrowed his brow. He didn’t mean to upset Sirius, but he really could look after himself and he didn’t need the pills.

“Being like what?” Sirius brushed the hair from Remus’ forehead then turned as Snuffles came trotting into the room, probably to see what was going on.

“Nothing. Sorry.” Remus shook his head because shuffling back down into bed and reaching for his phone. Sirius just nodded, grabbed their hoodie from the foot of the bed, and padded down the hallway.

Remus lay there for a few minutes then felt his bladder yelling at him to get out of bed. With a groan, he carefully shuffled to the edge of the bed. The pain in his ankle grew more intense in the movement, but he resolutely ignored it as he reached for his crutches — he could at least listen to Sirius about that. Then he hobbled off to the bathroom.

It was more difficult than he thought it would be, but he managed. His ankle was throbbing as he washed his hands though. Instead of going to the bedroom, he went to the kitchen to make a cup of tea his mam had given them for aches and pains.

Sirius was on the sofa working their laptop. Snuffles was curled up next to them as they typed away. They didn’t even look up at him when he came into the living room.

“I’m making tea,” Remus decided to declare when he got to the kitchen.

“Okay.” Sirius reached over Snuffles for their coffee mug and took a sip.

Remus nodded then went to the kitchen and started to get the tea together. The throbbing in his ankle seemed to be getting worse. There was more shooting pain as he reached for the mug. By the time the water was boiled, he felt exhausted and achey.

With a huff, he set down in crutch but kept the other under his arm and took the tea in his free hand. He hobbled out past Sirius again and down the hall. About halfway to the room, the water sloshed over burning his hand so he dropped the mug. “Motherfucker,” he hissed as the mug cluttered in to the floor, breaking into pieces on the hardwood.

Snuffles jumped up, barking at the sudden noise. Sirius was up off the sofa too and at his side a moment later. “You alright?”

“Yeah, I dropped the fucking tea.” Remus leaned against the wall.

“I can see that.” Sirius held onto his upper arm. “Get back into bed please, I’ll clean that up in a minute,” they said, steering him towards the bedroom.

“Fine. I give in. You can take care of me and I’ll take the damn pill because my ankle is throbbing.” Remus groaned.

Sirius looked as if they were a moment away from throwing their hands up. “ _ Thank you. _ ” 

“God, relax, don’t get gloaty.” Remus rolled his eyes.

“I’m not gonna gloat.” Sirius lead him into the bedroom, stepping past the smashed mug. “Leave it Snuffs. I’ll be back in a second.”

Remus leaned into them as they got into the bedroom. “You really want to stay here and take care of me while I’m an arsehole who refuses help?”

“Yes.  _ Because _ you’re an arsehole who refuses help,” Sirius said, kissing his temple as they helped him bodily onto the bed.

“How does that make sense?” Remus laughed, letting himself be pushed around.

“If you won’t look after yourself then I gotta.” Sirius leaned over, grabbed the pills and Remus’ water, and pressed them into his hands. “Stay here, at least while I clean this up.”

“Okay, I’ll stay here.” He took the pills, popping them into his mouth before taking the water.

“Finally.” Sirius smiled and pressed a kiss to his forehead before going back down the hallway. Remus could hear them chatting to Snuffles and playing with him as they cleaned up.

Remus got himself comfortable after setting aside the water glass. If Sirius was going to take care of him, he might as well just let them.


	10. Chapter 10

Sirius let out a sigh as they dumped the cracked remains of the mug into the bin. They knew they shouldn’t get frustrated with Remus, because he was in pain and he  _ was _ allowed to make his own decisions. They knew how stubborn he was though, and how much he pretended he was fine when he wasn’t.

They gave Snuffles a pat on the head as they passed by him, going towards the bathroom to get a cold cloth for Remus’ hand. That first, and then they could go and remake the tea for him, without dropping it all over the floor this time.

“Here, caro, for your hand,” they said, coming into the bedroom and sitting on the edge of the bed. Thankfully Remus was  _ still _ in bed and hadn’t decided to get up in the five minutes they’d been gone. “Are you gonna let me help you now?”

“Yes, you can wait on me hand and foot or be my nurse or whatever. I’ll stay here in bed.” Remus frowned a little.

Sirius wrapped the cold cloth around his hand, biting their lip. “I know you hate it. But you need to rest, the more you rest, the quicker you’ll be back on your feet. Take it from the dancer, okay?”

“All right.” Remus adjusted the cloth a little in his hand and sighed.

“What do you need?” Sirius smiled softly, brushing their hand through his hair.

“Tea. My laptop so I can watch something, I guess.”

“Okay.” Sirius kissed his forehead as they stood up, crossing the room to get his laptop from its charger. They set it on his lap, leaving their hand on his thigh for a moment. “Tea coming right up. Not on the floor this time.”

Remus rolled his eyes and opened his laptop. “Cute.”

“I am cute, I’m glad you agree,” Sirius said with a big grin, blowing Remus a kiss before starting down the hall back towards the kitchen.

“Ha! I have some different words for you than cute!” Remus called back.

“Oh yeah?” Sirius grinned as they filled the kettle. “Care to share any of them?”

“No, rather not have my tea poisoned or something.” He chuckled.

Sirius snorted. “Rude! I wouldn’t poison you.”

“That’s good to know.”

“If I were going to kill you it would be more dramatic, I think.”

“Yes, I think so too.” Remus laughed in agreement.

Sirius grinned, shaking their head. Snuffles was looking up at them like he had no idea what was going on. “I know, Daddy’s mad isn’t he, hm?” They ducked down and kissed the top of his head whilst Remus’ tea brewed. Hm, they still had Hope special lemon slices, maybe they would help Remus chill out a little, or rather, just relax and realise how much he needed to rest. Not to mention Sirius would quite like to get high after having to deal with the world’s worst patient. 

They dug in the freezer and unearthed one of Hope’s tupperware, setting them out to defrost before taking Remus’ tea and heading back into the bedroom.

“Thanks princess.” Remus smiled, looking up from his laptop. “I thought you were meant to be wearing the tiny skirt for this.” He snickered.

Sirius rolled their eyes. “Maybe if you’d given in at first, I might be wearing the tiny skirt.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Tomorrow is a new day though, maybe the tiny skirt tomorrow, hm?” Sirius grinned, setting the tea on the nightstand.

“I’ll try to be on my best behavior.”

“Now you know how I feel.” Sirius sat next to him, smiling. “What are you watching?”

“Queer Eye.”

“Ooh! New season?” Sirius scooted up to sit next to him. 

“No, starting from season one. I figure I have a whole week, might as well binge properly.” Remus put his head on their shoulder.

“Mhmm, that’s very true. You can rewatch all your favourites.”

“Yes.” He put his hand in their thigh.

“Favourite Fab Five?”

“It’s a tie between Antoni and Johnathan, really.” Remus hummed. “What about you?”

“Hmm… well Bobby does all the hard work. But Antoni is hot.”

“Bobby really doesn’t get enough love. That’s true. Yeah, Antoni is hot. Very hot.”

“Exactly, which is why I love Bobby. But also. Antoni.” Sirius grinned, wrapping their arm around his shoulders and pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

“Mmm, he’s so good looking.” Remus relaxed against them.

“Is he on your celebrity list?” Sirius chuckled, patting the bed to let Snuffles jump up next to them.

“Oh yes, for sure.” He laughed

“Who else? Hm, and I’m now frantically trying to compile my own list because I know you’re going to ask me the same question.”

“Oh god, let’s see…” Remus sat up a little straighter. “Brie Larson, Antoni, Isabella Manfredi, and Jason Momoa. Your turn.”

“Isabella Manfredi from the Preatures? I like them!” Sirius chuckled. “I like your equality, caro, you really do like both.”

“Haha yes! Also I’m bi, what do you expect?”

“Nothing less.” Sirius snuggled down into the bed a little. “Well, Antoni. Tom Hiddleston. Hmmm, oh! Ruby Rose, definitely Ruby Rose.”

“Oh, yes, Ruby Rose, good choice.”

“Mhmm. I love her. Oh! Oh okay, so this is problematic. Sergei Polunin. He’s a complete fucking dick, but damn.”

“Oh, right, that arse you told me about. But he is good looking and he’s a great dancer. Too bad he’s a fucking idiot.” Remus laughed, moving a little to get comfortable.

“Exactly. Good looking, great dancer, complete idiot.” Sirius chuckled, sitting up a little to let Remus get comfy before settling down again. “Oh, one last one. Ramin Karimloo. He’s lovely.”

“Ah, yes.” Remus nodded, resting his head on this chest. “No one’s got anything on you though.”

Sirius smiled, wrapping their arms around his shoulders. “You’re very sweet.”

“Ha, you say that now after I was a dick earlier.”

“You were a dick, yeah, but it’s okay. Especially now you’ve realised. I just want you to rest and get better.”

“I’m glad I’m forgiven.” Remus kissed their chest. “I think I might nap again.”

“Mhmm, good idea.” Sirius closed their eyes too, happy to doze and watch Queer Eye for a while.

They stirred a few hours later to Snuffles wanting to go outside. Remus was still asleep as they tried to extract themselves out from under him, wondering if he would stay asleep long enough for Sirius to take Snuffles on a run around the neighbourhood. Thankfully, he didn’t stir at all whilst they got dressed, so they made sure he had water on the nightstand, and more pain pills, before heading out with Snuffles.

The run was good for both of them and Sirius was pleasantly tired when they got back to the flat and let Snuffles off his lead. It was just starting to get warm again outside and that meant running without losing sensation in their extremities, and that was always nice. Snuffles bolted off down the hallway towards the bedroom and Sirius was hot on his heels, hoping he didn’t wake Remus up, or jump on him and knock his ankle or something. Remus was sat up in bed though, watching something on his laptop.

“Hi caro.”

“Hi love.” Remus stretched his arms above his head and tucked his good leg up. “I was just thinking, we’re meant to go to London in two weeks. I’ll be hobbling around to the theater.”

“Oh god, we are, aren’t we?” Sirius sat on the edge of the bed, pulling their hair out of the damp bun it was in. “We’ll manage. I can call the theatre and see what it’s like.”

“Okay, it’d be too bad to miss out on James and Lily’s gift.” Remus reached over and brushed their hand through their hair. “Did you go for a run?”

“We’ll make it work.” Sirius leaned in towards his touch, smiling. “Yeah, with Snuffles. It’s finally warm enough that my fingers don’t freeze.”

“That’s good.” His fingers trailed up to graze over their scalp.

“Mmm, that feels nice. I’m all gross though, I should go shower.”

“Mmm, okay, if you want.” Remus leaned forward and kissed their shoulder. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Sirius chuckled, biting their lip. “Well I suppose. I forget you don’t mind me post-workout.”

“You know I love you post-workout. It’s probably like pheromones or some shit.” Remus snickered as he sat back.

“Mmm, probably,” Sirius murmured, watching him for a moment. “The real question is, is it worth me showering now, or should I wait? Have you got that look in your eyes?”

“I don’t know, do I got that look?” Remus raised an eyebrow.

They tilted their head, looking him over. “I’m leaning more towards yes.”

“I thought I was meant to be on bed rest, not moving -- resting.” He chuckled.

“Ha, you’re the one who loves me like this, pheromones or whatever,” they said, smiling as they leaned in to kiss him softly. “I’m going to shower. You’re meant to be on bed rest.” They stood up, biting their lip and cocking their head in faux-thought. “Not that you couldn’t get bed rest and have fun at the same time, I suppose.”

“I’m sure we can find a way where I don’t have to move.” Remus smirked at them.

Sirius chuckled, brushing the hair back from his forehead. “I’m sure we could. We’re both very clever. Of course the problem is you can’t accost me in the shower when you’re like this. So say now, or forever hold your peace and I’ll go wash off these pheromones.”

“Get your cute butt over here.”

“Cute butt?” Sirius grinned, climbing back onto the bed next to him.

“Yeah, it’s very cute.” Remus chuckled, hand going for their thigh.

“This wouldn’t have anything to do with my workout leggings would it?” 

“No, of course not.” He pulled them on to his lap.

Sirius went with him, careful not to jolt him too much as they settled in his lap, their hands going to his shoulders. “Nah, I didn’t think so. Especially seeing as it’s not warm enough for shorts yet.”

“Very true.” His hands went down to their arse as he nuzzled their neck.

“Getting warmer though,” Sirius murmured, tipping their head back a little.

“Thank goodness.” He nipped at their neck.

They swallowed a moan, trailing their fingers up over the nape of Remus’ neck. “Mmhm, however will you manage?”

“Good thing I have an iron will.” Remus slid his hands under the waistband of their leggings.

“Oh yep, absolutely,” Sirius agreed, biting their lip around a smile. “Remus Lupin-Black, are you trying to get in my pants?”

“Mmm, I’m always trying to get in your pants, Sirius Lupin-Black.” Remus’ long fingers gave their bottom a squeeze.

Sirius chuckled, tipping their head back a little further as they arched back into his touch. “Because you’re a filthy bastard, obviously.”

“A filthy bastard that most people think is a stodgy bastard.” Remus continued to kiss their neck.

“Yep, you hide it--ah--very well. Only I know what you’re really like.”

“I’m only this way for you.” Remus pulled back with a grin. “What do you want princess?”

Sirius bit their lip, smiling down at him. “Just you. Do you wanna get off? Where are you right now?”

“I could get off, but I’m not desperate for it. Somewhere just past meh, I guess.” Remus shrugged.

“What about--remember when you came back from Germany and we were just like this--” Sirius rocked their hips against Remus’ to clarify-- “if you want.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.” Remus kissed up to their cheek.

“Yeah? I won’t--ha--won’t stop when you’re about to come and hug you because you don’t enunciate your dirty talk.”

“Oh good.” Remus tugged at Sirius’ bottoms. “That’s good because that was a little mortifying.”

They could feel themselves blushing a little at the memory, shaking their head. “I know, it was ridiculous,” they murmured, kneeling up so Remus could pull down their leggings.

“Mmm, it’s okay though.” He pulled the leggings and their briefs down as far as he could before sitting back.

Sirius kicked their bottoms off the rest of the way before straddling Remus’ thighs again, reaching down to circle their palm over him. “Oh I know. If you were all sharp and bristling back then, I wouldn’t have misheard you,” they teased, grinning.

“Took me a few months to find that all out.” Remus let out a groan.

“Mm, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Sirius bit their lip, keeping up the slow pace.

“Ah, yeah.” He lifted his hips just a little into the touch.

They took that as a hint, sliding their hand up to hook over the waistband of his pyjamas and tug them down his thighs a little. “I’m glad you agree.”

“I would never want it any other way either princess.” He laid back a little.

Sirius let him wriggle a little to get comfortable, trailing their fingers over his thigh then to wrap around his cock.

“Mmm, come here to so I can kiss you.” Remus let out a shaky breath.

“I suppose,” Sirius said with a smile, shifting back up to straddle his hips so they could lean in and kiss the corner of his mouth.

“Mmm, love you being all sweaty.” A hand went into their hair and another to their cock.

“You’re really--ah--taking the definition of filthy and run--running with it, hm?”

“Yeah, guess so.” Remus moaned then pressed a kiss to their lips. “Something about you all sweaty and worked up.”

Sirius nipped his bottom lip in response, rocking their hips against his. “Mm, does it get your imagination going?”

“Mmm, maybe. Maybe it makes me think -- ah -- think of you dancing.” Remus rocked his hips with Sirius.

“You love me dancing,” Sirius murmured, kissing him again between breaths.

“Ah, ah, yeah, fuck.” He moaned. 

Remus gave a little tug to the hair at the base of their skull. “I love how you move. So -- so hot.”

Sirius bit their lip around a moan, eyes fluttering shut. They ducked their head to nuzzle at the soft spot beneath Remus’ ear, nipping at the skin as they rocked against him, pulling just a little against his hand in their hair.

“You’re so perfect princess. Ah, everything you do.” He twisted his wrist up around their cock.

“Ah, yeah?” Sirius bit at his neck, rolling their hips against his as they mirrored his actions, thumbing over the head of his cock. “Even--ah--even when I’m a brat?”

“Ah, yeah.” Remus moaned again, hand tightening in their hair.

Sirius shivered at the sensation, sucking a mark into the side of Remus’ neck as their orgasm drew closer.

“So good princess, taking care of your Daddy.” Remus’ hips moved quicker against them.

“Fuck, yeah. Daddy always looks after me,” Sirius murmured, swirling their tongue over the bruise as they twisted their wrist again. “Ah, I’m so--so close.”

“Me too, shit.” Remus gasped, his body tensing as he drew closer.

Sirius moaned, burying their face in the crook of his neck. They wanted him to come first, wanted him to feel taken care of. Scraping their teeth over the join of his shoulder and neck, Sirius twisted their wrist, rocking against him.

“Ah, oh god, Sirius.” Remus came with a groan, hand pulling at Sirius’ hair.

“Fuck--” Sirius cut themselves off, their body going taut as they came, their eyes slipping shut as they stroked Remus through his orgasm.

“Shit, Sirius, oh god.” His strokes seemed to have no rhythm now as he started to relax. Sirius just hummed in agreement as they sank into him, their hips still twitching with the aftershocks. “Ah, that was good.”

“Yeah, you can… fucking hell you can say that again.”

Remus hummed, nuzzling their neck.


	11. Chapter 11

Remus did his best to be a good patient the rest of the week on bedrest. He let Sirius take care of him, get him everything, and just play nursemaid. Sirius even broke out the tiny skirt at one point, which was much appreciated. When Sirius went back to working half days then full days, Remus was insanely lonely and bored, but he did his best to stay in bed and read and relax.

When he went back to PureFit the next week, there was a little cake welcoming him back as well as many warnings from  _ everyone _ not to even think about climbing. Remus was sure that Sirius had sent out an email to the staff about keeping him off the wall. It was very difficult not to climb, and he was sure he could get up there with his broken ankle, but he knew that Sirius would murder him if he did so.

After his week back at work, they went into London Saturday morning to check-in to the Airbnb before Midsummer Night’s Dream. Sirius was very excited for it, but Remus was happy to be back at the Airbnb they stayed at the morning Remus realized he had to ask Sirius to marry him.

“Oh, yeah, this bed is still good.” Remus sat back on it as Sirius started to look through their luggage.

Sirius chuckled, sitting back on their heels. “I’m glad we were able to get the same Airbnb, right?”

“Me too, it’s a good place.” Remus grinned over at them.

“Yeah?” Sirius glanced over their shoulder at him, smiling. “I’m excited about tonight.”

“Me too. I can’t wait to hobble on in there in my nice suit and my cast.” He snorted a laugh.

Sirius grimaced, turning fully towards him. “I’m sorry caro. Even if it is your fault.”

“Don’t say sorry about it. My own dumb mistake.” Remus scooted up to put his feet up on the bed. He was already over wearing the cast, but he did learn his lesson about climbing alone.

“Mhmm, that’s true. I’m so glad you agree.” Sirius stood up and crossed over to sit on the edge of the bed.

“Yeah, yeah.” He rolled on to his side. “We don’t have very long, you should probably get ready soon.”

“Especially if we want to get there early enough to get a drink and people watch,” Sirius agreed, raking their hands through their hair.

“I love people watching at these things. It’s the best.” Remus watched them with a smile.

“The RSC, too. I think it’ll be wild.” Sirius grabbed his hand, pressed a kiss to it, then got up and looked through their luggage. “I’ve decided what I’m wearing, which is good.”

“Oh? What is it?” Remus pushed himself up on to his elbows.

Sirius bit their lip as they pulled out a long steel grey dress that seemed to shimmer in the lights. It looked as if it would show off their whole back too. “Alice and I went shopping the other day. We were looking for maternity clothes but I walked past this and… fell in love.”

“Oh, it’s gorgeous. Al’s been going mad not to be able to fit into all her favorite stuff. I’m sure she made you buy that as well.” Remus snickered.

“She did, yeah,” Sirius said with a grin. “She was so grumpy about her favourite jeans.”

“The plus side of neither of us being able to carry a child, we can continue to wear what we want.” He chuckled. They hadn’t talked much more about kids, but Remus did spend a lot of his time in bed reading about surrogacy and adoption.

Sirius laughed. “Yeah, no swollen feet or tiny thing kicking about our insides.”

“Very true. Jumping on our bladders. Al says she has to pee like every five minutes. Clearly exaggerating, but still kind of funny and also annoying.”

“Oh yeah I bet, it seems horrific.” Sirius stood up, pulling off their jeans and floaty shirt.

“Mm, very true.” Remus shuffled back against the pillows.

“Thankfully neither of us are cis women, so there we go.” Sirius smiled, stepping into their dress.

“Yeah… do you think you rather surrogacy still?” Remus asked as they slipped the dress up.

“I dunno, there are so many kids who need a loving home though.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” Remus nodded.

“We can figure it out.” Sirius leaned over and rummaged in their luggage again, pulling on a suit jacket over their bare arms.

“Yeah.” Remus loved how Sirius could wear  _ anything _ and it looked fantastic.

Sirius glanced in the mirror then looked over at Remus, turning a little this way and that. “What do you think?”

“Beautiful. Perfect. Stunning.” Remus shook his head. “How do you do this each time?”

“Do what?” Sirius had already turned back to the mirror, running their hands through their hair.

“Look amazing in everything. Sirius, you look phenomenal.” He shook his head.

“Thank you,” they murmured, shooting him an almost shy look in the mirror.

“I can’t believe you choose some garbage like me sometimes. How do you look so good like this and then when you’re all sweaty from work or a run?”

“You’re my perfect garbage though caro.”

“Mmm, you’re still stunning.” Remus let out a soft sigh.

“Thank you.” Sirius adjusted their silver bracelet under the cuff of their jacket, and the stars and moon necklace around their throat. “What are you gonna wear?”

“My blue suit.”

“Mmm yes, the one you wore to the ballet?”

“Yeah, it’s my only real good suit outside what I wore to marry you.” Remus stretched out a little.

“That is a good suit too, but maybe too good for the RSC.”

“I don’t know, your dress is that good.” Remus shuffled to the edge of the bed.

“This, or my wedding outfit?” Sirius shot him a sly grin.

“Both.” He grabbed his crutches.

“Of course you’d say both,” Sirius said, rolling their eyes. “Here, let me help.”

“I’m going to miss you dressing and undressing me all the time when I heal.” Remus snickered.

“Oh shut up.” Sirius chuckled, crossing over and holding onto his upper arm to steady him.

“You love it too princess.” He kissed their cheek.

“You’re lucky I love  _ you _ ,” Sirius said dryly, but they turned and kissed his cheek.

Remus grinned then kissed them once more before he started to get ready.

They made it out of their Airbnb without too much trouble, and caught a taxi to the theater. Again, this wasn’t really Remus’ thing, but he loved doing activities that Sirius loved. The people watching that he got to do was the best. “Look at the lady, do you think that’s actual fur?” Remus leaned on the table.

Sirius grimaced, setting their elbows on the table and their chin on their palm. “I really hope not. But I feel like that’s a yes.”

“Probably.” Remus’ eyes danced around the room, landing on a bloke that looked familiar for some reason. He had black hair, with flecks of white and a pointy nose. His eyes were…  _ oh _ , he was definitely a Black. He wasn’t sure what to do. Remus knew there were a couple of Blacks that Sirius liked. Like Andi, who happened to be Dora’s mom. As well as an uncle, he couldn’t remember the name of.

Sirius sipped their drink. “Oh, god look at that man’s toupe--hey. You okay?”

“I’m fine, yeah.” He glanced over at the man who made eye contact with him then looked over to Sirius. The man grinned and started to walk over towards them. “Sirius, ah, I think you -- I…”

Sirius frowned, looking at him then out across the crowd. Remus saw the moment they made eye contact with the man coming through the crowd, they sat up straighter, their eyes going wide. “Oh fuck. Uncle Al.”

“Is that a good or bad  _ oh fuck _ ,” Remus said softly.

“Good, I think, good. That’s Alphard, the one who was disowned by my--hi, Uncle Alphard, hello.” 

The man was beaming from ear to ear when he made it to the table. “Sirius, look at you! It’s been so long. You look fantastic.”

Sirius’ cheeks turned a little pink and their hand went to Remus’ arm. “Thank you. It’s been a while, you look great. Oh, err, Alphard, this is my husband Remus, Remus, this is my uncle Alphard.”

“Hi, pleased to meet you.” Remus stuck out a hand.

Alphard took his hand and gave him a firm shake. “Husband? Congratulations! Last I saw you, you were very very single.” He snickered.

“Ha, yeah,” Sirius said, glancing to Remus. “Around eighteen months ago I was still very very single. But thankfully not any longer.”

“Wow, I’m so happy for you. How are things otherwise? Are you still dancing?”

“Ah yep, still dancing. I own a dance studio with a friend of mine, up in Godric’s? Things are good. What about you? What are you doing these days?”

“I’m great! I’m editor-in-chief at a little magazine, no big deal.” He laughed.

“Oh, just editor-in-chief, no big deal, right Remus?” Sirius laughed, rolling their eyes.

“Right,” Remus said with a chuckle. “What magazine?”

“Wander Weekly.”

“Oh! That’s a big magazine, holy shit. That’s awesome.” Remus looked at him in interest.

“I guess so.”

“You guess so? It’s huge. Your features are amazing. Didn’t the magazine just win some big award.” Remus rambled on.

Sirius put a hand on his arm, squeezing a little. “That’s great Al, our friend Frank loves the magazine. He really loves travel photography.”

“Really? We’re always looking for some good photographers.”

“Frank would die.” Remus snickered, looking to Sirius.

“He really would. Have you got a card or something Al, I can pass it to him?” Sirius grinned.

“I sure do.” He pulled out his wallet. “So, how is Godric’s? It’s a lovely little city.”

“You should come up and visit,” Remus suggested.

Sirius bit their lip, grinning. “It’s a great city, we have a really good social circle, lots of good bars. Great, well, great queer scene too.”

“That’s excellent, I’d love to visit, if you’d have me. It’s not too far from London. Is Andi up there too or she still in Norway?”

“I think she and Ted are in Norway still, but they come over to see Dora a lot. She’s in Godric’s with Bill and Fleur?”

“Oh that’s fantastic. I’ll have to come up. I haven’t seen Dora in forever either.” Alphard nodded.

“Yeah, we can get something together, I’m sure.” Remus grinned.

Sirius looked as if they were stifling laughter as they gestured with Alphard’s card. “Well we’ve got your details, so we can sort something out.”

“Perfect, I should get back to my date. I hope you enjoy the show.” Al nodded at them.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Have a good evening Al, take care.” Sirius slipped off their chair and held a hand out to him.

“You too Sirius, it’s so nice to see you.” Al instead wrapped them in a hug.

Sirius hugged back, then as Alphard went off through the crowd with a final wave to them, they climbed back into their seat.

“Well, I’m glad that was a good relative.” Remus let out a sigh then picked up his glass.

Sirius gave him a grin. “Remus John Lupin-Black, do you have a crush on my uncle?”

Remus nearly spat out his whisky, instead he choked on it. He could feel his cheeks going red. “What?!”

“You were rambling all over him. Is that drool on your chin?” Sirius was laughing as they reached out as if to wipe something from his face.

“Oh my god.” He put a hand over his eyes. Al  _ was _ good-looking, but that was the Black genetics. He also worked at a cool magazine. “No!”

“Sure!” Sirius laughed, their chin on their palm. “Now I know the Black genetics are decent, although we’re a little crazy, but that’s my  _ uncle _ .”

“Oh my god,” Remus repeated. Sirius just threw their head back and laughed. “At least your looks won’t fade with age,” Remus got himself together enough to shoot back.

Sirius snorted in laughter, folding their arms onto the table and burying their face in them to try and stifle it.

“I basically begged him to come up to Godric’s? Oh god, you’re going to give me so much shit when he’s up there, aren’t you?” Remus groaned, leaning back in his chair.

“Yes!” Sirius was laughing still. They took a breath then did an uncanny impression of Remus’ accent. “Your magazine is amazing, you look fantastic, oh you should come and visit Al, oh have a wonderful evening.”

“Christ.” Remus picked up his whisky. “Hey, maybe I need a Daddy of my own?”

Sirius shrieked in laughter again, their cheeks turning pink. “Oh god!”

Remus snorted a laugh and put his face in his hands. “I can’t.”

Sirius just shook their head, tears gathering at the corners of their eyes now.

“He’s not allowed to come visit now.” Remus’ couldn’t stop laughing.

“I’m surprised you didn’t offer him our sofa.” Sirius laughed. “No, I’m surprised you weren’t like  _ ah, Sirius can sleep on the sofa Al, our bed is incredibly comfortable after all _ .”

Remus put his head on the table, still chuckling. “Oh fuck.”

“ _ No, Sirius, I’d never offer your place in our bed to your Uncle, despite the fact I fancy the pants off of him. _ ” Sirius was wiping the tears from their eyelashes now, laughing.

“Jesus Christ.” Remus was having a hard time breathing. “He probably has a lot of knowledge.”

“Oh my fuck you cannot ask my uncle about what kinky things he might know. I refuse,” Sirius said emphatically, clutching the edge of the table.

“Ha, oh -- Jesus.” Remus coughed. “We’re not having him up now. We can’t.”

“I’m going to phone him tomorrow and see how he’s doing.” Sirius was grinning as they picked up their drink and took a sip. 

“Well, if you ever decide to leave me…” Remus scoffed.

“At least I’ll know Al is looking after you.” Sirius gave him a wry smile just as the bell signalling the start of the show rang through the bar.

“Ah, yeah, I’m sure he’ll look after me just right.” Remus reached for his crutches. “Come on.”

Sirius was up out of their seat in a moment, holding a hand out to make sure Remus wasn’t unbalanced before picking up both of their drinks.

“Thank you love.” Remus kissed their cheek. “Shall we?”


	12. Chapter 12

True to their word, Sirius was like a dog with a bone getting Alphard coming to Godric’s to see them, if only to torment Remus with it. They did relent and organise it for the weekend after Remus got his cast off. The doctor had told them--Sirius had insisted on coming along to the appointment because they knew Remus would just ignore all the advice--that Remus would still need to take it easy and rest up.

They decided to have a big group night out at the jazz bar when Alphard was there too, and Dora was keen to come along with Bill and Fleur with one of their rare free weekends. 

Sirius was excited to see Alphard, but also excited to tease Remus about his crush on their uncle. Unfortunately Sirius was working that weekend as Marlene was supporting Dorcas at a CrossFit competition, but Sirius was sure Remus would be fine entertaining Alphard in the morning before they had plans to have dinner with Reggie, Benjy and Hestia. 

“You’ll be fine, Benjy. Alphard is great, he’s a  _ good _ Black,” Sirius said, waving their hand as they leaned on the reception desk before their last class of the day.

“Ugh, okay. Reggie’s never talked about him until you came back from the play.”

“Because he’s good. He got like, exiled by our bio mother when Reg was still young I think, I was sixteen, so he was still caught up in a lot of it.”

“It’s going to be fine, Ben.” Hestia came out, changed out of dance gear into her street clothes. She was done with classes for the day.

“Right! You tell him, Hes, he won’t listen to me.” Sirius grinned, snatching up their water bottle from the desk and heading into the studio.

“Don’t worry, Reg is excited. So we should be too.” Hestia kissed Benjy’s cheek.

“You two are adorable!” Sirius called just as the doors swung shut. They set their water down and began warming up and stretching before their class. Eventually, their group came into the studio and began getting ready, and soon Sirius was sort of lost in teaching.

At some point in their teaching, Sirius was surprised to hear Remus’ voice, “See, they’re amazing.” They looked up from adjusting a student’s positioning to see Remus stood with Alphard by the doors. Remus was watching with the same look he always did.

Sirius clapped their hands to get the class’s attention. “Okay, good job you guys. Take five and then we’ll work on some more inversions if everyone is up for that!” They stepped past the group and up to the two watching. “Hey you two, you’re early for dinner.”

“Al wanted to see you work. I did not want to say no to that.” Remus leaned back against the wall.

“Hmm, I see,” Sirius said as they kissed Remus on the cheek and gave Alphard a brief hug. “What do you think of the studio Al?”

“It’s wonderful. Very large, you look like you’re doing great business.” Alphard nodded.

“Right? I could go on a whole rant about the importance of the arts and movement as a commodity, but you know--” Sirius gestured over their shoulder to the class. “Gotta teach. Hes is done for the day, so maybe you guys could go hang out, if you don’t want to watch some more, obviously.”

“I’ll go chat with Benjy and Hestia, I’d love to get to know them. Regulus went off to find Ben.” Alphard looked towards the door.

“I’ll stay.” Remus grinned.

“Of course you will,” Sirius said with a grin, leaning in to kiss the corner of Remus’ mouth before bounding off to teach the rest of their class.

Remus stayed back against the wall as Al left them. Sirius gave him a quick wink as they went to the front to demonstrate a few moves to the class, knowing he was staying and watching. When it came to teaching though, Sirius was pretty hard to distract. They were more sure they would  _ be _ the distraction for Remus, they always knew how he loved to watch them dance.

At the end of the class Sirius was their favourite kind of satisfied tired as they bid everyone goodbye and crossed over to Remus, a smile on their lips. Remus wrapped his arms around them and dipped them a little as they kissed. Sirius laughed into the kiss, leaning into it and letting Remus hold them--they were feeling pretty limber today anyway. “Hi caro.”

“Hi my pearl. Amazing as always.” He hummed then straightened up. “Love you all sweaty and gross.”

“Ha, of course you do. I’m not going to dinner like this though. I’m gonna go shower. Did you like the lesson, though?”

“Oh yeah, great lesson.” Remus kissed them one more time. “Go shower, and then we can do dinner. I’ll see what Alphard is up to.”

“Mm, probably a good idea you don’t keep me company after all that, right?” Sirius murmured against his mouth, grinning.

“Mmm, probably, not while everyone is waiting.” He gave them a swat on the bum then moved away.

Sirius laughed, jumping and skipping off the next few steps back to the hall. They paused at the door and wiggled their hips, giving Remus a coy glance over their shoulder.

“Brat.” Remus rolled his eyes then went out the door.

“Love you!” Sirius sing-songed as they strode down the corridor heading for the showers. Thankfully Remus didn’t come and keep them company, so they got showered pretty quickly, dressed in their favourite jeans and red silk shirt, and found the rest of the gang in reception at dinnertime.

“Where are we going for dinner then?” Uncle Al asked. He was chatting with Ben and Regulus near the reception desk.

“There’s a tapas place around the corner, we thought that would be a good idea?” Sirius glanced around the group.

“That’s a great idea, you’ll love it Al.” Remus smiled at him then looked to Sirius.

Sirius gave him a broad grin, shrugging their shoulder. Of course Remus was concerned whether Al would love it. They crossed over to him, hooking an arm around his waist. “Always so thoughtful caro.”

Remus nudged them in the side a little. “It’s a good place. Let’s go.”

“Oh, at least we won’t be getting that cake, remember that?” Reggie asked with a laugh.

“No no, we don’t talk about that, Reg,” Sirius said, nudging everyone out the door.

“Oh, there’s a story there.” Al chuckled as he followed the group. “What happened?”

“Sirius tried to throw me the best birthday, let’s just say that it didn’t go as planned.” Remus explained with a little shrug, keeping an arm around Sirius.

Benjy locked the studio behind the group then jogged to catch up. “Oh are we talking about the awful birthday?”

“Oh my god, lets not.” Sirius buried their face into Remus’ shoulder.

“It’s fine, Sirius made up for it this year.” Remus rolled his eyes.

“It sounds like a great story.” Alphard laughed.

“It was awful but I’m better now.” Sirius chuckled, walking along. “This year Remus got a competition win for his birthday so that’s much better.”

“Right, this must have been pre-ankle break.”

Remus nodded. “Yes, Sirius and I went to New York for the competition and I won. Then Effy and Monty gifted us a stay in the city.”

“It was great.”

“New York is wonderful, I was there in January.” Alphard smiled. “Also, bouldering competitions must be so fascinating to watch. People hanging from things without any rope.”

“It’s the best thing in the world.” Remus laughed. “Well, except for spending time with Sirius…”

Sirius chuckled. “That’s very sweet of you but we all know bouldering is your first love. It’s great, though, wonderful to watch. Are we in London soon caro? Al can come watch.”

“Right, actually there’s a competition in June in London. You don’t have to come, obviously.” Remus waved a hand.

“You should go, Remus is freaking awesome,” Benjy said excitedly.

“I’d love to. It sounds like you’re amazing.”

“Ah, ha, thanks.” Remus’ cheeks went a little pink as they got to the tapas place.

Sirius grinned at Remus blushing, digging their fingers into his side. He definitely did fancy Alphard. Remus elbowed them and gave them a look as Regulus went up to the host stand. Hestia was telling Al about the food there.

“Stop,” Remus whispered.

“You’re blushing like a teenager caro,” Sirius whispered back, grinning. 

“I don’t know why!” He groaned. “I think it’s because it’s in my head. Oh god.”

“You definitely fancy him. Good job I’m not jealous, even if it is my uncle.”

“This a million levels of wrong. I need to talk to Poppy,” Remus mumbled as they were shown to their table.

“You’re gonna rat me out to her aren’t you?” Sirius followed after him, grinning ear to ear. Teasing him like this was fun.

“I always do.” Remus snickered as they got to the table.

Sirius gave him their best scandalised look, skirting around the table as Reg, Ben and Hes sat down. To their delight, the seat next to Alphard was free and Sirius sat on the other side of it, forcing Remus to sit between them and their uncle.

Remus took the seat with what Sirius knew was a forced smile. Under the table Remus gave Sirius’ knee a hard squeeze. Sirius knew that was his warning sign but they were having too much fun, so they just gave him a sweet smile in return and looked over the menu. 

“This is all great, by the way. The patatas bravas are my favourite.”

“They have really good beer too. You were saying that you like a lot of international stuff.” Remus looked over at Al then quickly back to his menu.

“Remus and his beer.” Hestia chuckled.

“He has good taste!” Reggie retorted.

Sirius stifled laughter into their hand. “Remus is very into his beer, I’m sure he’ll be able to give you good recommendations, Al.”

“Ah, good, a man with taste.” Alphard held up the drink menu. “So, what do you say, Remus?”

Remus cleared his throat and peered at the menu Al was holding. “This one is the best, but it’s rather heavy. This one is a bit lighter if you fancy that. Both are good.”

“I’ll get the lighter one I think.”

“Definitely a hard choice. I feel like that’s the most succinct you’ve ever been about beer, darling,” Sirius said lightly, pouring water for the table.

“Drunk and high Remus talking about beer and The Man is the most rambly,” Reg said with a smile.

“You know Remus used to be very punk?” Benjy asked.

“No.” Alphard furrowed his brow. “I could tell you about Brixton in the 70’s, you know?” He sat back, setting his menu down.

Remus’ eyes widened slightly. “Really?”

Sirius rolled their eyes, catching Reg and Benjy’s gaze. “Al, you’ve really got him going now.”

“We’re going to get some Fuck The Man speeches soon.” Benjy scoffed as the waiter came over.

The group took a moment to order their dinners and whilst everyone was ordering, Sirius pulled out their phone and rifled through for the photos of teenage punk Remus Hope had sent them a while ago. As the waiter walked away, Sirius leaned over Remus and slid their phone to Alphard. 

“See, teenage punk Remus, Al.”

“Remus, what a look for you! I looked much the same when I was sneaking away from the family.” Alphard took the phone to get a better look.

Remus gave Sirius’ leg another squeeze, which Sirius gleefully ignored. 

“Do you have any photos of you back in your hay-day Al? I bet you two would’ve torn up the town,” they said with a big grin.

“I sure do, not on me though. The next time you’re in London, I’ll show you. We’ll get together when you have your competition Remus.” Alphard passed Sirius the phone back.

“Oh, ah yeah.” Remus smiled.

Sirius pocketed their phone, smiling sweetly at Remus still. “We’ll definitely get together after that.”

Remus just smiled.

“So, Reggie, tell me more about your studies.” Alphard looked across to Regulus.

Sirius squeezed Remus’ hand on their knee before joining in on the conversation, unable to keep the smile from their face. Everyone got on well with Alphard, and he was the only family member Sirius ever really respected, so it was nice to have him around. He kept up with most of the chatter and gave as good as he got with the jokes.

“Oh, love, they have chocolate churros.” Remus pointed to the dessert menu. “With chocolate dipping sauce.”

“Ooh yes, let’s have that,” Sirius agreed, sitting back. Remus had a separate dessert stomach but Sirius could always make room for churros.

“There’s a wonderful chocolate restaurant in London. The whole menu has chocolate in it, and it’s actually very good.” Alphard commented. “It seems you’re a chocolate lover.”

“Yes! I love chocolate, Sirius makes fun of me.”

“Chocolate is always a good thing. We’ll eat there when you’re in London.” Alphard nodded.

Sirius gave Remus a grin. “I think that’s a great idea, you’ll totally love it Remus, I know already.”

“I’m sure that I will. That sounds great.”

“That must be an easy way to Remus’ heart, huh, Sirius?” Alphard laughed.

Sirius laughed, squeezing Remus’ hand on their knee again. “Amongst other things, yes. Heart shaped chocolates and he’s a happy man.”

The flush in Remus’ cheeks came back.

“I’m sure.” Alphard gave another laugh.

“So, churros right?” Hestia said, chuckling as she caught the waiter’s attention and ordered a couple of plates for them all to share.

Remus leaned in and kissed Sirius’ temple then whispered, “I’m going to kill you.”

Sirius grinned and kissed his cheek. “I love you too darling.”

He gave Sirius’ knee another squeeze. Sirius just smiled in response, sipping their drink as they wiggled in their seat. “Churros and then the jazz bar. I think James and Lily will meet us there?”

“Yeah, and Dora, Fleur, and Bill.” Regulus leaned into Ben.

“Oh gosh, I haven’t seen Dora in so long.” Al shook his head. “I’m so happy that I bumped into you two the other week.” Alphard put a hand on Remus’ shoulder.

“It was such a stroke of luck, wasn’t it?”

“Dora is doing great. She dances with Bill and Fleur,” Benjy said. “I keep trying to get them into the studio but they keep saying they don’t like teaching.”

“They do a different type of dance anyhow. Alice and Frank had them sub in for them over at the place they teach,” Remus pointed out. “Not that I know a thing about dance.”

“I’m sure you know more than me.” Alphard took a sip of his beer.

Sirius chuckled. “Yeah, we’re different styles. And pft, don’t belittle yourself caro, you’ve been around dancers for nearly two years, I’m sure you’ve picked up  _ something _ .”

“I’ve picked up nothing.” Remus shook his head. “I just like watching you dance.”

“I’m sure you’re a fine dancer, Remus,” Alphard assured him.

“We’ll have to see at the jazz bar.”

“I’m very excited for the place. I heard you play piano, Remus, are we going to see that?”

“Ah, well, I don’t know, they usually already have people who play on Saturdays.” Remus shrugged.

“He’s a really fantastic pianist, Al,” Sirius said emphatically.

“You’re biased.” He shook his head.

“No, he’s awesome. Is Mare coming? Maybe she can sing. They’re an amazing duo,” Benjy explained to Alphard.

“I’m not sure if they’ve got a babysitter for Ro,” Sirius said, biting their lip.

“I think they’re going to try and come, yeah,” Hestia replied. “Might be late though.”

“I think Emme is watching both Harry and Ro, so that’s going to be fun for her.” Regulus leaned on the table.

“Ha, I’m sure she’ll have the time of her life.”


	13. Chapter 13

Remus pulled Sirius close to him as they waited for their drinks at the bar of the jazz club. Sirius had been egging on his whole apparent crush on Alphard. He hated it, and Sirius was being such a brat. “You’re being horrible.” Remus rubbed a hand over their side.

“I have no idea what you mean caro,” Sirius said, kissing his cheek as they slid a whisky over to him.

“You’re going to get some pay back later, you know?” Remus took the whiskey, as well as Alphard’s glass. “You are trying to get me to look like an idiot in front of Al. Your uncle! God, normal people would think this is weird!”

“I’m trying to build you up so he likes you! Besides, you’re coming home with me, so I don’t mind who you fancy.”

“I’m going to leave you for your rich editor uncle and travel the world,” Remus teased then took off back to the table with both glasses.

At the table, Dora was chatting loudly with Al. She was great, Remus wished they saw her, Fleur, and Bill more but they were always so busy with their dancing. Bill and Fleur were chatting with Alice and Frank. Well, Alice looked grumpy, rubbing her stomach as the other three chatted. Remus was sure that she couldn’t be thrown around on the dance floor like she was used to. James and Lily were on the floor with Ben and Hestia and Mare and Peter already. Poor James was looking like an idiot as usual while dancing.

“Here’s your drink, Al.” Remus held out the glass to Alphard.

“Ah! Thank you, Remus. You know, Dora, he has wonderful tastes.” Alphard tipped the glass toward Remus.

“Ha! He does, he always picks good stuff.” She ran a hand through her lilac hair.

Sirius caught up to Remus, setting down a handful more drinks and sipping their own. “Are we singing Remus’ praises again?”

“There seems to be a lot to praise.” Alphard laughed.

Remus rolled his eyes and took a sip of his drink. “Alice, want to dance?” He looked over at his best mate. She looked a bit murderous.

“Please. Frankie keeps telling me I need to rest but I am going out of my mind.”

Remus took her hand and helped her up off the sofa. “Thank god, let’s go. He’s probably as bad as Sirius.”

“Oi!” Sirius swatted him on the thigh as they walked past, settling in his vacant seat next to Alphard and Dora.

“Come on, let’s go before they stop us.” Remus laughed, pulling Alice with him to the floor.

Alice laughed, going with Remus onto the floor, somewhat near the rest of the group dancing. “I am so excited for this baby but boy do I miss dancing.”

“I’m sure. Almost there, just a few more months.” Remus held her hand then gave her a little spin. Even five months pregnant, Alice was still graceful, spinning around with her usual burst of energy.

“So how are you, Moony?”

“I’m brilliant, aside from the fact that I might have a small crush on Alphard and Sirius is like a dog with a fucking bone.” Remus snorted a laugh.

“Ha! Well, Alphard does have that certain… debonair charm about him, I suppose,” Alice said with a smile. “I will never understand you and Sirius I don’t think… And I mean that in the nicest way possible.”

“He’s very dashing in that older gentleman way. Very worldly. Honestly, he’s just an older Sirius.” Remus shook his head. “And I don’t understand us, so it’s fine.”

“An older Sirius. My god that might be the cutest thing you’ve ever said, Remus.”

“Me talking about how I’m sort of into my spouses’ uncle is cute?” Remus raised an eyebrow.

Alice rolled her eyes. “When you put it like that, you absolute weirdo.”

“I hate it. It is weird. I’m such a weirdo.” Remus made a face.

“Hmm, you poor thing.” Alice patted him on the cheek. “Hey, if anything, doesn’t it reaffirm how wonderful you and Sirius are together? Proof you’ll still fancy them in like, three decades time.”

“Yeah, yeah. They think it’s hilarious and great.”

“Well they’re obviously just as strange as you. Alphard is a total silver fox, though.”

“He really is, isn’t he?” Remus let out a long sigh. “Sirius is going to kill me tonight. Or well, I’m going to kill Sirius.”

“I am staying out of whatever the hell you get up to. If you think all of us have forgotten that conversation at your wedding then you’re sorely mistaken.” Alice was laughing as they danced.

“Ugh, I was hoping you would have.” Remus cringed thinking about the conversation at the breakfast table. “Also, just because we do that stuff does not mean that’s all we do.” Except that was what Remus was thinking about it.

“Oh, sure sure.” Alice smiled, spinning out and back in again as the song came to an end.

“This certainly has nothing to do with what we do. I’m a weirdo for fancying Sirius’ uncle.”

“Of course.” Alice leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Ugh, I have to sit down for a minute. I’m a one dance kinda gal at the moment.”

“Poor thing.” Remus gave her a hug. “I guess I’ll come back to the table.”

“I’m sure your spouse will want a dance.”

“I’m sure, surprised they’re not pushing you out of the way.” Remus walked with Alice back to the table.

When they got to the table, Sirius brightened up. Remus stayed standing, going to take a drink of his whisky. “You want to dance, love?”

“Thought you’d never ask, caro,” Sirius replied, sipping their drink before setting it down and standing to meet him.

Remus smiled and slid a hand around their waist. “Come on then.”

“Are you having a good time?” Sirius asked, leaning into him.

“Yeah, you?” Remus practically dragged them to the dance floor. “Having fun trying to get me flustered with Alphard?”

“Of course.” Sirius had the biggest grin on their face. “I think Al finds it charming too.”

“Oh yeah? He seems ready to sweep me off to London and be  _ my _ Sugar Daddy.” Remus scoffed.

“Ha, I’ll fight him for you,” they said, looping their arms around Remus’ shoulders.

“Really? Thought you were ready to hand me off. I’m sure he’d treat me nicely.” Remus grinned, giving Sirius back what they had been giving Remus all day.

“Oh, I think he would, and you know I always want the best for you. But I’m also a complete brat and want Daddy all to myself.”

“Hmm, you are being very bratty today.” Remus moved to the music.

“Am I?”

“You keep egging things on.” He lightly ran his hand up their side.

“Do I?” Sirius smiled, curling their fingers through the hair at the nape of Remus’ neck.

“Stop being obtuse princess.” Remus gave them a look.

“I’m never obtuse, Remus.”

“You know  _ exactly _ what you’re doing.” He shook his head. “So that means you’ll know why you’re getting punished later.”

“I haven’t done anything  _ wrong _ !” Sirius said with a wry smile.

“Oh, really?” Remus furrowed his brow.

“I’ve just been nice and making sure you’ve felt included in conversations all day, Remus, that’s all.”

“You’ve been a brat, and you know it.” His voice went a bit more stern as he spun them out. “You know, I could probably go back to Alphard’s hotel with him. Just make sure he’s all settled in.”

Sirius’ eyes went wide for a moment before they smiled. “Oh yeah?”

“Sure, if you’re going to continue to pretend to be obtuse, I think I could have a good, proper conversation with Alphard while you go home.”

“A  _ conversation _ ? Now you’re the one being obtuse, because I don’t think you mean a conversation, I think you mean a good, proper something else entirely.” Sirius smiled, shrugging one shoulder.

“I’m sure I could talk him into a good, proper shag too.” Remus pushed back a little harder. “I’m not being obtuse.”

“Hm, he’d take good care of you.”

“He really would.” Remus nodded in agreement, wondering exactly how far Sirius was going to let this go.

“Mhmm.” Sirius spun around a little, still smiling.

“So are you going to continue to be a brat tonight or are you going to be good, princess?” Remus pulled them tighter.

“What do you think?” Sirius said with a smile.

“I think you’re going to be a brat because you don’t care about your punishment.”

“I’ll behave if there’s something nice on the line, I suppose.”

Remus rolled his eyes. “Something nice is always on the line, but you never seem to care.”

“I like being a brat and I know you do too. I’m having fun.” Sirius smiled, leaning in to kiss the angle of his jaw.

“I also like when you’re sweet. Egging on the whole thing with Alphard all day, was not sweet.”

“I’m sorry Daddy,” Sirius murmured, kissing his cheek.

“Doesn’t make up for the whole day.” Remus rubbed their side again.

“What would you like me to do to make it up to you?”

“Just be nice. You’re already getting punished, don’t make it worse.”

“Even if I’m on my best behaviour all night?” Sirius smiled, running a hand through their hair as they danced against him.

“Yes, but any other behavior is just going to make things worse.” Remus’ hands went down to their hips.

“Well if I’m already getting punished, I may as well make the most of it.” Sirius’ hips were swaying with the beat, dancing closer.

“I’m going to go finish my drink.” Remus kissed them on the cheek then went off towards their table.

“Alright,” Sirius murmured back, dancing along still. “I’m gonna stay here.”

“You do that.” Remus didn’t look back until he was seated back at the table between Alphard and James. “Free from the dance floor, Prongs?” Remus asked him.

“Yep.” James let out a long breath. “You too?”

“Yeah, I wanted a drink and Sirius wanted to stay out there.” Remus glanced around for them.

Sirius was on the dancefloor, dancing with Hestia, Benjy and Lily. Remus wasn’t sure if they were being purposefully provocative, or whether that was just how they danced. He let out a long breath through his nose then took a sip of his drink.

“They can dance all night, can’t they?” Alphard laughed.

“You’ve no idea.” Remus shook his head. “The dancers never stop.”

“Be glad Marlene and Dorcas aren’t here this weekend or it would be even more rowdy. Marly is a fucking whirlwind,” James said, setting down his beer.

“Sirius told me about her, she sounds like a handful.”

“You’ve no idea.” Remus kept an eye on Sirius. Their group had been joined by a few people, perhaps someone Lily knew, because they seemed friendly already, dancing together and laughing. Sirius was moving like air, as always, dancing so effortlessly.

“Alphard, have you ever had your chart done?” Mary asked, leaning over James with a typical serene look.

“Ah, ha, no, I have not.”

Remus wasn’t paying attention to the conversation, just to what Sirius is doing. Their grey eyes flickered over towards him in the crowd and they smiled slightly, more of a smirk really, raising a hand to push the hair back from their face. They held his gaze for a little longer before looking back to the group they were with, giving a coy smile to one of the men in the group.

“Something interesting you see Moony?” Alice raised an eyebrow.

“What?” He looked back to her. “Just watching Sirius dance.”

Alice looked doubtful, but Remus’ eyes went back to the dancefloor. Sirius was dancing with the man now, trying to teach him something by their hand gestures and the animated expression on their face, leaning in to speak clearly in his ear. Remus knew they were doing this on purpose, so he wasn’t going to do anything. He wasn’t actually jealous, he knew they were just being a brat.

“Right, Moony?” Frank said, leaning over and clapping Remus on the shoulder. “Wander Weekly is really fantastic.”

Remus tore his eyes from Sirius and looked to Frank then Alphard. “Yeah! Love it, it’s the best travel magazine -- best magazine. It’s so interesting.”

“You two are too kind. Frank I would love to see your work though, I’m very serious about that.”

“Ah, god, yeah,” Frank murmured, rubbing his face a little self-consciously. “I can definitely send a portfolio over to you. It would be so great if you took a look.”

“Frank’s amazing. He did our engagement and wedding photos.” Remus held up his phone to show Alphard the picture of his lockscreen. It was of one from their first dance.

“That’s great, I’d love to see more. You should send me that portfolio.”

“Oh, I love that photo!” Mary said from the other sofa, leaning in to see. “That was such a wonderful day.”

“It was perfect.” Remus grinned down at his phone, remembering their wedding.

Lily appeared off the dancefloor and perched herself on the arm of Remus’ chair, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Hey.”

“Hi.” Remus looked up at her. There was a crease in her brow and a little frown. “What’s going on Lils?”

“You and Sirius alright?” She said, speaking quietly.

Remus let out a loud laugh, looking back to the dancefloor. Sirius was still dancing with Hestia, Benjy and the newcomers, their arms around both Hestia and the man they were teaching a move to earlier.

Lily’s frown deepened. “I’m taking that as a yes? They’re a bit… well, flirty tonight.”

“It’s fine, Lily, don’t worry.” Remus patted her on the leg. “Hey, Alphard, do you like to dance?” If Sirius was going to do that, then so could he.

Alphard looked over to him, smiling. “Indeed I do.”

Lily made a bit of a noise, giving Remus a wide-eyed look.

“Okay Lily?” Remus stood up as Alphard did. “Want to come dance?”

“I’d be delighted,” Alphard said smoothly, smiling.

“Great.” Remus led him out to the dance floor. “I’m not exactly on par with Sirius, but I can dance to this.” He laughed as they came to the edge of the floor.

“I’m sure you’re a good dancer, Remus.” 

Sirius was still dancing with Benjy and Hestia, the newcomers nowhere to be seen though. Remus grinned over at Sirius as he started to move to the music. Sirius practically did a double take through the crowd before they grinned ear to ear. 

“I’m sure there’s plenty of places like this in London.” Remus made conversation, trying not to stare at Sirius the entire time.

“There are a few, yes, but this place has a certain charm. Although present company may go a way to account for that.”

Remus felt himself blush,  _ fucking hell _ . He knew that Alphard meant the whole group but there was Sirius in his head. “Ha, they’re a good group of people, right?”

“They’re fabulous. Frankly, I’m thrilled Sirius has a group like yourselves, and they seem very happy with you, Remus.”

“I’m very happy with them.” Remus let out a sigh and could hear Sirius in his head,  _ my Austen heroine _ .

“Glad to hear it. A great dancer too. No professional, but not everyone can be like them, it seems.” Alphard chuckled.

Again his cheeks flushed. “Ha! I’m complete garbage at dancing. Usually I just stand here and let them dance around me.”

“Seems like a valid tactic to me,” Alphard said, laughing.

“Usually works nicely.” Remus smiled, thinking about dancing with Sirius.


	14. Chapter 14

Sirius followed Hestia and Benjy back to the seats, glancing over their shoulder at Remus and Alphard dancing. Remus could be a brat when he really wanted to, it seemed. They weren’t sure if it were the low lighting making Remus look like he was blushing, or whether he really did have a crush on Alphard.

Strangely enough, Sirius wasn’t particularly bothered. They knew Remus would come home with them tonight, and it was almost flattering, when they looked up to Alphard and Remus liked him too.

“Hey, you alright Pads?” James clapped Sirius on the shoulder.

“Yeah, good,” Sirius replied absently, watching Remus through the crowd. God, he was so gorgeous.

Remus laughed at something that Alphard had said, tossing his head back and making his curls flop around a bit.

“Sure?” James shook their shoulder a little.

“Yeah, good. My husband is just fucking fabulous.”

James snorted a laugh. “Yeah alright.”

Sirius leaned against the back of the sofa, watching. They were trying to decide what Remus would  _ want _ them to do, then do exactly the opposite.

“Everything is… good with you two, right?” Lily moved a little closer to them.

“Hey Lils, yeah, it’s good, it’s good.” Sirius knew they needed to give the conversation their full attention because Lily sounded worried, but they couldn’t tear their eyes away from Remus.

“Okay…” She sounded skeptical.

On the floor, Remus was being spun by Alphard.

Sirius sat on the sofa next to Lily, shaking their head. “Really, it’s fine.”

Lily’s eyes went wide. “Oh my god is this some BDSM sex game?”

“No!” Sirius laughed, throwing their head back. Honestly they weren’t sure what was or wasn’t some BDSM sex game nowadays, but they were having too much fun to care. “Really, no. We’re just having fun.”

“Okay, you two are so fucking weird.” She laughed, shaking her head.

Sirius chuckled. “Tell me something I don’t know, Lils.”

The rest of the night went well. Eventually Remus and Alphard returned from the dancefloor and Sirius leaned into kiss Remus’ cheek, grinning ear to ear. They danced with Hestia and Lily some more, and with Alice for another song before she had to sit down and grumble about her feet.

Soon enough, everyone was parting ways at the end of the night and Alphard was heading back to his hotel for an early morning train back to London. Sirius gave him a hug, then stifled a laugh when Alphard hugged Remus goodbye too.

“I’ll see you both in June?” Alphard asked them before getting into his Uber.

Sirius hooked their arm around Remus’ waist, grinning. “Yes, of course, we’d love it.”

“See you then!” Remus leaned into them as Al gave them one more wave then got in. “So, let’s get home.”

“I suppose it’s late,” Sirius agreed, kissing his cheek. “Uber or bus?”

“Bus should be here in a minute.” Remus looked at his watch.

“Alright, bus works. Did you have a good night caro?”

“I had a  _ very _ good night, how about you? I saw that cute guy you were dancing with.” He put an arm around their waist.

“Oh you did, did you?” Sirius grinned, stepping between his legs. 

“Mmmhmm.” He kissed their neck.

Sirius couldn’t help tipping their chin up a little. “Seeing as you didn’t want to dance anymore. Or so I thought, ‘til you were dancing with Alphard.”

“You were just being bratty, I stepped away.” Remus grinned into the skin on their neck as the bus came down the street.

“Was I a bit too bratty?” Sirius smiled, stepping away a little towards the bus.

“You’ve been bratty all day.” Remus followed them onto the bus.

“That didn’t answer my question,” Sirius noted, sliding into a seat with a grin in his direction.

Remus just shrugged then sat down. Sirius put their arm around him, grinning. “I feel like I am in  _ trouble _ .” He didn’t answer, he just smiled then kissed their cheek. “Uh-ohhh,” Sirius sing-songed.

“Uh-oh is about right.” Remus’ hand went to their knee then rubbed up their thigh.

Sirius bit their lip to try and stifle their smile, but there was something in them that loved riling Remus up like this, wondering how and when he would snap.

“When we go home,” Remus started to say in a low voice. “You’re going to go to the bedroom, get undressed, put on your collar, and sit nicely on your knees on the bed. Not touching yourself.”

“Hmmm, okay,” Sirius murmured, turning to kiss his cheek. Of course, the longer they did this, the more Remus was building in little clauses just so Sirius couldn’t twist his words against him.

“You have to sit perfectly still. Oh, and get the blindfold out too before you sit.”

“Would you prefer a particular collar?” Sirius asked sweetly, their voice low too.

“The rope one.” His hand slid further up their thigh and moved inward.

“Hmm, okay.”

Remus’ hand ghosted over them then he pulled his hand back. Sirius swallowed back a moan, looking purposefully out of the bus window. If Remus wanted them to react then they weren’t going to. “I can’t wait to see Alphard in London.”

“I’m sure you can’t,” Sirius said, raising an eyebrow back at him. 

“He said we could stay at his place, it’s rather large.”

“Oh is it?” Sirius grinned, sliding their arm around his waist. “I’m sure he’s told you all about it.”

“Mmm, yep. I asked about his beds since I am the king of sleep after all.” Remus laughed. “He says they’re very good. He has two king sized beds.”

“So you and he will take one and I’ll spread out in the other and get a good eight hours?”

“I’m sure I could make that work,” he said lightly.

“I’m sure you could. I’ll be oh so lonely by myself, but I’m sure I’d manage.”

“Mmm, you poor thing.”

“I’d have to go to some lengths to stop myself getting bored of course.”

“I’m sure you would.” Remus’ hand went back to their thigh. “You can go find that bloke you were dancing with at the bar.” He gave their leg a squeeze.

“Ohh, hm maybe. I’m sure London is full of many people.”

“Many people who can’t take care of you like I can.” Remus kissed their cheek then stood up as they came to their stop.

Sirius stood up, following him out. “No one takes care of me like you do.”

“Same, princess.” Remus took their hand as they got off the bus.

“Mhmm. I love you.” Sirius smiled, kissing the back of his hand as they got off the bus and started around towards the flat.

“I love you too.” He grinned then kissed their temple. “What are you doing when we get inside?”

“Being on my best behaviour, sitting on the bed with my collar on and blindfold out, not touching myself,” Sirius recited, smiling.

“Hmm, I thought I said the ropes too. If I didn’t then get two bundles out as well… and how are you meant to sit?”

Sirius nodded, smile widening. They loved rope. “Nicely, on my knees.”

“Yes, good.” He took out his keys as they got to their building.

“See, I can be good.” Sirius smiled, pressing a kiss to his cheek as he unlocked the door then darting up ahead of him.

“Sure you can be.” Remus laughed, following behind them.

They lounged against the door to the flat, smiling at Remus as he climbed the stairs behind them. “I definitely can.”

“Didn’t see that once tonight.” Remus crowded them against the door as he moved to unlock it.

“I was well behaved on the dance floor wasn’t I?”

“With me? Sure… for the most part.” Remus opened the door and practically pushed them inside. “I’ll be in the bedroom in a minute.”

Sirius didn’t stumble at all, already starting down the hall to the bedroom. “When you say a minute do you mean ten or fifteen?” They knew they were digging themselves deeper and deeper but it was just too much fun. 

“Excuse me?” Remus dropped his keys in the bowl by the door.

“Nothing!” Sirius shot him a smile before practically running into the bedroom.

“Yeah, sure.”

“I love you!” Sirius stifled their laughter as best they could as they got undressed, putting their clothes away. Remus didn’t reply as they got out the rope, their rope collar and the blindfold and settled on the bed. They weren’t in a hurry because they knew Remus was going to make them wait, but they still wanted things to move quicker, regardless. Eventually, after trailing around tidying up some to try and distract themselves, Sirius settled on the bed, hands on their knees. They loved and hated this bit. It made them stop and slow down, sit and listen and  _ wait _ , none of which were their strong points, but that was exactly why Remus did it, they were sure.

Twenty minutes later --  _ at least _ \-- Remus came in carrying two bottles of water and Sirius’ favorite lotion. “Oh, you’re doing so good princess.”

Sirius was definitely bored and restless, but they were determined to sit here. If they had gotten up to see where Remus was he most likely would’ve just made it worse for them. “Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome. I want you to sit against the pillows with your legs out straight.” Remus stood in front of them. He reached up and cupped their cheek, running his thumb over their bottom lip.

Sirius bit back the urge to say  _ please  _ with a wry little smile and instead pressed a kiss to the pad of Remus’ thumb, giving a little shiver of anticipation. They did as he said, shifting back against the pillows with their legs out, toes pointed.

“You’re listening so well right now.” Remus smiled, picking up the blindfold.

“Mm, are you going to be nice then?”

Remus just laughed, bringing the blindfold up to their eyes. Sirius turned their head just a little, not exactly struggling but they weren’t making it easy for him. “You just said I’m being good.”

“You’re being good right now.” Remus tied the blindfold then kissed their forehead.

“Mhmm, very well behaved.” Sirius tipped their chin up, closing their eyes and getting used to the darkness of the blindfold for a moment. Instinctively, they were listening for Remus, aware of him close.

Remus touched their knee with one hand, settling between their legs. “Arms out in front of you.”

Sirius did so, holding their arms out and wiggling their fingers. “I don’t think it’s very fair you haven’t told me what you’re planning.”

“I don’t have to tell you.” They felt the silky rope being looped around their wrist as Remus spoke.

“I can hear the seasoned kinksters screaming about safe, sane and consensual Remus,” Sirius said with a smile, already relishing the feel of the rope. “It’s a good job I trust you.”

“I’m tying you up then you’re going to sit and be good.” Remus pressed a kiss to their lips before going back to tying them up. “Do you want to know more?”

“I’m already sitting and being good,” Sirius murmured, kissing back. The rope always felt wonderful, they always felt so safe and taken care of, never mind the feeling of it against their skin.

Remus snickered as he tied up past their elbows. “You’re going to sit and be good even longer.”

“You already made me wait for like, twenty minutes and you weren’t even in the room. I didn’t touch myself, and did just as Daddy asked.” Sirius grinned, pressing their forearms together but not too tightly.

“Well, this is a part of your punishment.” It felt as if Remus knotted the rope then sat back, but still between their legs.

Sirius let their arms rest on their lap, wiggling them a little to test the knots. “You’re so mean to me.”

“I’m teaching you a lesson. You shouldn’t have acted that way with me and Alphard. Then you danced with some random bloke at the bar and you were being flirty.”

“Was Daddy jealous?” 

“No, but I didn’t say you could do that.” Remus shuffled back a little and held on to their ankle.

“You know I love you the most,” Sirius murmured, wriggling a little to try and get comfortable.

“I do, but you still need to ask for permission.” He gave their ankle a squeeze.

“Would you have liked me to say  _ Daddy, can I go and flirt with the bloke at the bar because I know you’ll be watching? _ ” 

“Yes.” Remus lifted his hand then it was soon replaced with the feeling of rope.

“Would you have said yes?”

“Yes.” The rope traveled up to their calf. Sirius could feel a few knots.

They smiled, their breath hitching with each knot against their skin. “Because you know I love you.”

“I know you love me. You know I love you too.” The rope was looped around their other leg, just under the calf matching where it had left off on the other leg.

“Something tells me you don’t really want me to move, hm?”

“How could you guess,” Remus murmured as he continued to work.

“I just have that intuition, you know.”

“Mmm, sure.”

Sirius wiggled their toes, testing the bonds. “What now?”

“I’m just going to get my laptop, I’m moving off the bed, okay?” Remus asked as SIrius felt the bed shift. “Just going to get it from the charger.”

“Okay.” Sirius swallowed, listening for him moving around. “Is it in here?”

“Yeah, it’s just where it usually is. I’m grabbing it right now.”

“Okay.”

A few seconds later the bed shifted and Remus pressed a kiss to their cheek. “Back.”

“Hi,” Sirius whispered, leaning into him a little.

Remus settled onto the bed next to them, his foot resting against their calf. “Hi.”

Sirius let out a breath, happy he was back with them, leaning against him. “You’re very mean to me.”

“I know, you’ve said.” Remus chuckled as Sirius heard the keys clacking on the keyboard.

“What’re you doing?”

“Watching something.”

“Without me?” Sirius pouted, leaning their head on his shoulder.

“Yeah.” There was the sound of people talking.

“Is it porn?” Sirius cocked their head, listening to try and hear the telltale signs.

“Yeah.” He felt Remus shift. “I’m taking my clothes off.”

Sirius pouted, nearly losing their balance for a moment as he moved. “No fair.”

“Aww, you poor princess.” Remus let out a low laugh as Sirius felt the bed shifting and the rustle of Remus’ clothes.

“Yeah, Daddy is so mean to me.” Sirius wriggled to sit up straighter, tipping their head back against the pillows.


	15. Chapter 15

Remus laughed to himself, watching Sirius wiggle around and pout as he got undressed. He was going to tickle them but this seemed like punishment enough. “I’m so sorry that you feel that way,” he said lightly as he settled back down onto the bed.

“It’s a fact,” Sirius murmured, turning towards him a little as if they were looking at him despite the blindfold.

“No, it’s an opinion,” Remus corrected them.

Sirius just stuck their tongue out at him in response.

“You were being so sweet and nice and listening so well, now look at you.” Remus paused the video.

“I would, but I’m blindfolded Daddy.”

Remus huffed then moved to straddle them. “You’re being very bad.”

Sirius scraped their teeth over their bottom lip. “Whoops.”

With a sigh, Remus dug his fingers into their sides. “You’ve made me have to do this, you know? You were being so good.”

“Ah!” Sirius shrieked, writhing and trying to buck their hips to get Remus off them. “Ha! Ah, stop, stop.”

“No, you’ve been a brat. You were being good then you ruined it.” Remus dug his fingers into them, dancing them up their sides.

Sirius practically screamed, wiggling as much as they could. “Ahh, ah, you like--you like when I’m a brat! Stop, stop.”

“You’ve been very bad though.” Remus didn’t let up.

“Remus!” Sirius was twisting their arms against the ropes, trying to pull away. “I’ll--ah--I’ll be q--quiet and good!”

“Who?” Remus raised an eyebrow, not that they could see. He still didn’t let up.

Sirius yelped, sniffing a little. “Daddy! I’ll--I’ll be good Daddy.”

Remus stopped digging his fingers in so hard but kept trailing his fingers lightly down their sides. “Oh princess, you’ve been so bad though. You’ve been a brat.”

“You like me b--being a brat, Daddy!” Sirius sniffed again, still wriggling away from him as much as they could.

“Hmm? I do?” Remus tickled them a little more.

Sirius shrieked, trying to kick their feet but they were still bound.”M’sorry, sorry!”

“You shouldn’t have stuck your tongue out and called me mean.” Remus kept tickling. “You were so bratty today, but I was going to let you get away without tickling.”

“M’sorry!” Sirius sniffled again, their voice sounding thick.

Remus let up, leaning forward to press a soft kiss to their lips. “Maybe you’ll learn your lesson then.”

“I will, I will, okay.” Sirius was panting a little, their chest rising and falling.

He kissed them one more time before moving off them and settling back to pick up his laptop. “Good, that’s good.”

Sirius sank down into the bed, a flush crawling down their neck and across their shoulders, still breathing hard. “M’sorry.”

“As you should be.” Remus pressed play for the video.

“Love you.”

“Love you too princess.” He wrapped a hand around himself and let out a groan.

Sirius squirmed, biting their lip as they listened. “What are they doing?” they asked after a little pause.

He looked at the video play of the two men kissing and just touching each other. “Mmm, they’re just being really nice to each other.”

“Nice?” Sirius said, chuckling softly.

“Mmmhmm.” Remus moaned a little as one of them men started going down on the other. He twisted his wrist on the upstroke.

“I wanna see.”

“Oh, you do?” He hummed.

Sirius let out a groan. “You know I do. I love watching you. I wanna see.”

“Mmm, I don’t think so.” Remus gripped himself a little firmer.

“Daddy,” Sirius practically whined. “I wanna see you. I bet you look so good right now.” Remus let out a luxurious moan just to tease them. They squirmed again, making a noise at the back of their throat. “Oh god. I wanna see, Daddy please.”

“Yeah?” Remus moved to straddle them again.

“Yeah, ah fuck,” Sirius muttered, lifting their hips up towards his to try and get some friction. “Please.”

“You poor thing.” He could feel his orgasm building as he continued to stroke himself, a bit faster now.

Sirius bit their lip, arching up a little. “You’re my favourite like this, kneeling over me--ah--please, I wanna see. Daddy, please.”

“I am? Why?” He didn’t move to undo the blindfold, he just kept stroking himself, feeling the pleasure tingling.

“Because--ah--because you look so good like this and I know you can do anything but you like me asking and begging. I wanna see you Daddy, please.”

“Fuck, yeah?” He let out another moan, reaching for the blindfold with his free hand. Sirius immediately tilted their head towards his touch, biting their lip as they shifted beneath him.

“Please.”

Remus gave in and slipped the blindfold off. Sirius blinked rapidly, adjusting to the light for a moment before their gaze flickered down over him and they gave a sharp moan. “Oh fuck.”

“Yeah?” Remus shifted a little, biting his lips as his toes curled.

“Ah, oh my god look at you,” Sirius murmured, their cheeks flushed pink as they tried to press back up towards him. “Fuck, come on me.”

It only took two more strokes for Remus to come all over Sirius’ chest. He threw his head back and closed his eyes, letting his body do its own thing. “Oh shit, fuck.”

Sirius moaned, their legs shifting to try and find purchase to grind up against Remus. “Oh god.”

“You’re so amazing, so good.” Remus managed, looking back to Sirius. He swiped his fingers across the come on their chest.

“Ah… fuck,” Sirius ushered out, watching him with wide eyes, their stomach trembling just a little.

He put their fingers up to their lips. “You’re amazing.”

Sirius leaned up as much as they could, swirling their tongue over the tips of Remus’ fingers. He let them clean it off before gathering more and bringing it to their lips again. “Do you want to come?”

“Mhmm,” Sirius hummed, nodding as they sucked Remus’ fingers clean.

“Okay.” Remus removed his fingers then kissed them, sliding his tongue into their mouth. Sirius kissed back instantly, wriggling against the rope a little. “Stop moving, you’re going to get rope burn.”

“I just wanna--” Sirius murmured, leaning up to kiss him again.

Remus grinned and pulled back. “Wanna what?”

“Be close to you--ah--touch you, get--get off. You’re so gorgeous.”

“I want to go down on you, okay?” Remus brushed his fingers over their collar.

Sirius nodded, tipping their chin back. “Okay, okay.”

He chuckled as he kissed down their chest towards their cock. Sirius moaned softly, lifting their hips up as much as they could. Remus hummed as he took them into his hand. Leaning forward, he swirled his tongue around the head, teasing over the slit. Sirius let out a louder moan, their thighs tensing.

“Ah, fuck, oh my god.”

Remus chuckled then wrapped his lips around them, taking them into his mouth. He rolled his tongue along as he bobbed his head. Sirius’ fingers were clenching, pressed together over their stomach, as if they were trying to grab onto Remus or tangle their fingers in his hair. He looked up at them through his lashes, smiling around them as he sucked a little harder.

“Ohh, oh, god look at you, look at you,” Sirius gritted out, biting their lip as they arched their back, trying to grind closer to him.

He moaned then pulled back a little to tongue over the tip again. “I want you to come.”

Sirius moaned sharply, their body going tense on the edge of their orgasm. “Yeah--yes Daddy.”

He smirked before taking them into his mouth again.

“Ahh, oh fuck.” Sirius tensed up beneath him a moment before they came, their hips canting up. Remus swallowed around them, working them through their orgasm. “ _ Fuck _ .” 

Remus moved back as Sirius seemed to melt into the bed. He pressed his lips to their thigh then sat up. “I’ll untie you, okay?”

“Okay,” Sirius breathed, giving a shiver.

“Are you all right?” He asked as he started to untie their arms as quick as he could.

“Yeah, yeah I’m good. Christ…. I’m good.”

“Do you need anything?” Remus kissed their palm once the ropes were off their arms. His fingers traced up the red indentations from the rope.

“Just you,” Sirius murmured, their eyes slipping shut.

“Let me get your leg rope off first, okay?” He sat back to do so.

Once the ropes were off, Remus moved so he could cuddle up with them. He kissed their cheek and ran his hands through their hair. “Did you like that?”

“Mmhm, I did.” Sirius kissed his temple. “Did you?”

“Yeah, it was perfect. You were perfect.” Remus gave them a squeeze. “You were so close to getting away with no tickling.”

Sirius chuckled softly. “Then I stuck my tongue out at you.”

“You were  _ so close. _ ” He snickered then kissed them again. “I really wasn’t going to, you did that to yourself.”

“I probably did deserve it, but you also didn’t let me watch, and you know I love watching.”

“I’m soooo mean,” he said with another laugh. “God, I don’t know how I’m going to look at Alphard again.”

Sirius grinned, rolling onto their side. “You really do fancy him.”

Remus felt an odd flutter in his stomach then made a face. “I cannot fancy your uncle. It’s weird and you shouldn’t be so happy about it.” He rolled his eyes, moving to sit up a little.

“It’s proof you’ll fancy me when we’re fifty,” Sirius said, looking pleased. “But I can drop it.”

He sighed, running his fingers through their hair. “I’ll always fancy you. I don’t mind the teasing, just maybe not so much the next time we see him. As long as you don’t mind, I guess it’s not terribly strange.”

“It’s a bit weird, but that’s okay.” Sirius leaned up and kissed his cheek. “I guess.”

Remus shifted, a little uncomfortable. “Okay.”

Sirius sat up straighter, raising an eyebrow. “Hey, I’m only joking. You have a teeny crush on my uncle, so what. He’s a bit of a fox from what I understand--judging by the look on your face anyway. And I’m fine with it. It’s weird how fine I am with it.”

He groaned, putting his hands over his face. “I almost wish you weren’t fine with it? I don’t know why.”

“Okay. I am definitely not fine with it. Stop fancying my uncle immediately, you must only find me, your spouse, attractive, until the end of days,” Sirius said instantly, kneeling up to straddle Remus’ thighs. “I don’t make the rules.”

“It’s not the fact that I find someone attractive, it’s just -- it’s your  _ uncle _ . I don’t care if you find people attractive at all. It’s normal.”

“I get that. Most of my bio family are fucking horrific anyway.”

Remus huffed. “Okay, I’ll get over this. I’m just getting a complex for some reason.”

“You are,” Sirius said sweetly, kissing him softly. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Remus kissed them back. “The bloke you were dancing with was cute, by the way. Lily was very concerned that something was wrong with us.”

“So was James. Lily asked me if it was some BDSM sex game.” Sirius snorted, resting their head on his shoulder.

“I guess it turned into that, huh?” Remus laughed.

“Doesn’t everything with us recently?”

“Apparently… remember when we said this was just going to be something we did every so often?” He rubbed their back.

“Ha, I remember. We do vanilla sometimes. It’s just… cathartic in a lot of ways, to do this, I think.”

“Yeah, it is.” Remus wondered sometimes how he never tapped into this side of himself before. It was always there, but he was never comfortable until Sirius came along.

“I miss it when we’ve not done it for a while. I feel… safe, I guess, when we’re like this.”

“I like making you feel safe.” Remus kissed their forehead. “I like being able to feel in control, you know, and making you feeling good.”

“Mm, it makes a lot of sense. You like feeling in control of things in the bedroom… especially if… you know, if things were out of your control previously.”

“You can say his name, you know?” Remus shook his head. “Being in control makes me feel safe.”

“Yeah, I know. I don’t like to, but I will, if you like.” Sirius kissed him briefly. “I know it does, I like being able to give you that… to surrender it to you, you know?”

“I know.” Remus pushed their hair back from their face. “I don’t want you to go away for your competition.” He frowned with a little pout.

Sirius made a little sad noise and tilted into his touch, frowning themselves. “I know, I don’t want to go either, but I don’t want to miss it, because I think it’ll be a great comp, and you can’t miss your work thing.”

“I know, I’m just kidding -- mostly.” Remus pushed the corner of their mouth up. “You’re going to be amazing.”

They playfully snapped their teeth at Remus’ finger, chuckling. “It’s going to be fun. I’ll miss you though.”

“I’ll miss you so much, but then it will be so much sweeter when you get back.”

“We’ll manage.”


	16. Chapter 16

Sirius flopped into a seat in the bar of their hotel, grateful for the air conditioning. They were in Spain with Marlene for a competition, one which Remus wasn’t able to join them on, and they were missing him more than a little already. This afternoon had been mostly practice and preparation for the actual competing, and they had gotten right off the plane and practically gone straight to the convention centre. Now they were finally resting a little, maybe have some sangria and a catch up with Marlene before turning in for the night.

“OH MY GOD!” Marlene collapsed in a chair not far from the bar. “It’s so fucking hot out. But, I mean, it’s all amazing. The convention centre is HUGE!”

“Right? You’d think a place like that would have better air-con though, Christ.” Sirius puffed out their cheeks. “Sangria?”

“God, yes.” Marlene looked at them with wide eyes. “I haven’t had sangria since that time I took my bra off in the bar.”

Sirius shook their head. “I remember. Don’t do that here please, my Spanish isn’t good enough to get you out of a police report.”

“Ah, well, we have to be on top form tomorrow, so I don’t plan on getting that wasted.”

“Yeah but  _ that wasted _ to you is apocalyptic to everyone else, you’re a machine.”

Marlene just grinned as she stood up. “I’ll get us the drinks?”

“Yeah alright. No flirting with the cute barmaid,” Sirius shot back, grinning.

“As if I have eyes for anyone but Dorky!” She practically screeched.

“I know, I know!” Sirius laughed, holding one hand up in surrender as they dug their phone from their bag.

_ Back at the hotel for the evening. Been practising all day. Convention centre is great. Missing you lots  _ 💙

**Miss you too my pearl 💖💖💖💖**

_ How are you doing? _

**Completely bored without you.** **  
** **I just got off work though, ha.**

_ I wish you were here too.  _ _   
_ _ What have you got planned for tonight? _

**Nothing. Just headed home to Snuffs.** **  
** **Video chat later?**

_ See if Dorky wants to hang out or something? _ _   
_ _ Video chat sounds good. I’m just drinking sangria with Marly then I’ll go upstairs _

**Nah, I’m going to go home and get naked**

Sirius glanced up to Marlene at the bar, squirming in their seat a little.

_ Oh really? How interesting _ _   
_ _ I am particularly sweaty after practising all day in the Spanish heat _

**😜** **  
** **Mmm very nice. Are you in leggings or tiny shorts?**

_ Oh it’s definitely tiny shorts weather _

**Don’t get changed until I can see you.**

_ Yes Daddy _

**Love you princess.** **  
** **Why don’t you go enjoy a few drinks with Marly** **  
** **💖💖💖💖💖💖**

_ I will _ _   
_ _ I’ll text you when I’m back in my room _

“HERE WE GO!” Marlene declared as a glass of sangria appeared in front of Sirius.

Sirius threw their phone back into their bag, smiling at Marlene. “You’re a saint,” they said, taking a sip of the drink.

“I know I am. Ah, I know that look. How’s Remus? He being all Dom-y?” She did a weird suggestive thing with her eyebrows.

“Ha! Look at you, are your sub senses tingling?” Sirius grinned. “He’s being his usual self. How’s Dorky?”

“Is he now?” She sipped her drink. “She’s being her usual self. She told me what underwear to wear.”

Sirius’ eyebrows shot up, chuckling. “Of course she did,” they agreed, touching their silver bracelet for a moment.

“It’s great. Love not making decisions.” She sighed. “Do that enough with work.”

“Ah, tell me about it. This is clearly why we’re like this, decision fatigue from running this bloody business.”

“Eh, I don’t know about that but it helps.” Marlene leaned forward. “So, tell me more about Remus. What’s he like as a Dom? We haven’t talked about it in like a  _ year _ . You shut it down all the time. Now we’re alone with no one else near.”

Sirius rolled their eyes. “He’s private with that stuff, and obviously no one believes he’s the kinky one out of the two of us.” They took a drink, swirling the straw in the fruit. “He’s very sweet, most of the time.”

“Sirius, my dear, if you’re into this you’ve got to be kinky too.” She waved a hand. “Sweet huh?”

“He’s the  _ kinkier _ one then, you pedant. Yeah, he’s nice, until I push too far.”

“HA, of course you’re a brat!”

“Oi! What is that meant to mean?” Sirius threw a coaster at her, laughing.

“Come on Sirius, you’re totally a brat. You don’t like taking direction.” She snickered and threw the coaster back.

“And you’re just the sweetest, nicest little obedient thing with no sass at all, right?”

“Ha, I’m very obedient, thank you. If I’m not Dorky isn’t the sweetest.” Marly gave the biggest grin. “That’s not to say I don’t like it.”

“Oh god is she real strict with you?” Sirius leaned in, elbows on the table.

“ _ So strict _ , like she’s always telling me what to do and if I don’t do it then I get punished. Like I have to send her pictures of me drinking my green smoothies ‘cause she wants me to eat healthy.” Marlene looked pleased with that, though.

Sirius puffed out their cheeks. “I think I would hate that. But it suits you, she wants the best for you, obviously.”

“Remus doesn’t tell you what to do?” She paused. “And obviously she wants the best.”

“He tells me what to do but most of the time I don’t listen,” Sirius said with a laugh. “He doesn’t keep track of what I’m eating or drinking but does make sure I eat lunch when it’s busy or whatever.”

“So he’s more caring. Sounds like a Daddy to me.” She nodded knowingly.

Sirius smirked, shrugging a shoulder.

“Ha!” Marlene gestured wildly. “Is that what you call him?”

They just shrugged again, knowing Remus would probably hate the fact Marlene knew, but they really couldn’t lie to her at a time like this. Hopefully she wouldn’t tell.

“Aww, that’s so cute. I bet he’s real sweet.”

“He is. Don’t tell though okay, if you do I’ll grass you to Dorky, total secrecy.” Sirius pointed at her, raising an eyebrow.

“Fine, fine, our secret!”

Sirius grinned over the rim of their glass. “What do you call Dorky?”

“Take a guess.” She raised an eyebrow.

“Hmmm… ma’am? Mistress? Oh! Your Highness?” Sirius chuckled. “My Lady?”

“Ma’am.”

“Ooh, very proper.” They sipped their drink again. “You remember that TV show Wife Swap? I feel like Dom Swap would be literally the most hilarious thing in the world. Can you imagine?”

“Dorky would murder you.” Marlene snorted a laugh then finished her drink.

“Oh yeah I’d talk back once and she’d beat the shit out of me. I feel like you wouldn’t know what the fuck to do with Remus.”

“I’d be waiting for commands and he’d be like  _ oh Marly can I do your hair in a braid? _ ”

Sirius laughed, their shoulders shaking. “He’d wash your hair and tell you how good you’re being whilst Dorky is beating the shit outta me for telling her  _ no, do it yourself. _ ”

Marlene’s laughter was a loud screech.

“Can you imagine? I’m awful, she’d hate it.”

“Oh, she so would. She’d get so mad at you.” Marlene looked at her phone. “Ah, speak of the goddess. I should be getting back to my room.”

“Does she set bedtime?” Sirius said with a grin. “Remus would be so surprised when you just  _ do _ what he asks.” They finished their drink. “Yeah, me too.”

“Yes, she does, actually.” Marlene stood up with a flourish. “Let’s go then.”

“Oh god, that’s so cute.” Sirius stood up, swinging their bag over their shoulder and heading for the elevators with Marlene.

“She’s just looking out for me.”

“I know I know, it’s adorable.” Sirius bit their lip, weaving through to the lobby. “Did you guys have this whole dynamic from the beginning?”

“Yeah, actually, we met at the BDSM club.” Marlene explained as if Sirius should have known this all along.

Sirius spun around to face her as they walked. “No way! You said she was a friend of a friend you met at a bar when you introduced her to me! … Though I guess that’s true, in a sense.”

“Very true. I just didn’t say what bar.” She grinned as they got to the elevator.

“Mm, I wonder if Remus would want to go to the BDSM club,” Sirius said, half to themselves.

“You two should! It’s great.”

“I’ll mention it to him, see what he says.” They stepped in, hitting the button for their floor and leaning against the side.

“Do it!”

Sirius hugged Marlene goodnight when they got to their rooms, making arrangements to meet downstairs for breakfast, before they went to their room. Instinctively they went to get changed and take a shower before remembering Remus’ words. Rolling their eyes, they sorted through their bags to at least find their pyjamas out and set out their things for the next morning.

Underneath a bundle of clothes Sirius found something they definitely hadn’t packed themselves. They pulled out the tiara and looked it over, laughing to themselves. Well, Remus did say he would buy them a tiara at one point. It was silver plastic with clear plastic ‘gems’ and the word  _ princess  _ written in fancy cursive. Still chuckling, Sirius shoved it on their head, atop their messy bun, and grabbed their phone to take a quick selfie to text to Remus.

_ Your Highness requests an audience with Daddy _

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍   
**Incoming Video Call From Remus 💙**

Sirius hit the accept button with a grin. “Hi caro.”

“Hi my pearl. I see you found your gift… I keep finding yours too.” Remus snorted as he held up two polaroids. “On the TV remote and then taped to the mirror? Cute.”

“Well had to give you things whilst I’m away!” Sirius smiled, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Did you like the one on the mirror?” If they remembered correctly it was one of them tied up all pretty.

“Oh yeah, I loved it.” Remus sat back against the pillows on their bed. “You’re so pretty.”

“I thought you might. I don’t remember how many of them I hid but hopefully they keep you amused until I’m back,” Sirius murmured as they laid on their side and set their phone on the nightstand.

“Oh? There’s more, I can’t wait.” He smiled at them. “Your tiara suits you.”

“Mhmm. I’m 90% sure there’s one of the bruises your paddle leaves somewhere too.” Sirius propped their chin on their palm, smiling back at him, he was so gorgeous. “Thank you, I like it, it’s very sweet.  _ You’re _ very sweet.”

Remus gave a little laugh. “I wish you were here so I could give you a kiss.”

“Mm I wish that too. I wanna kiss that bit of your jaw I can see when you lie like that.”

“I’d like that.” Remus touched his jaw. “I want to just kiss you all over, I can’t choose where.”

“Especially when I’m all sweaty from dancing right?” Sirius bit their lip, reaching over to tilt the camera down a little.

“Mmmhmm, yeah.” Remus hummed. “I’d hate to take those shorts off, but I would have to.”

“Yeah?” Sirius smiled. “Do you want me to?”

“Yes princess.”

“You know, I could be extra bratty right now because you can’t tickle me through the phone.” Sirius grinned, sitting up to tug their shirt off. “Pretty please?”

“See where the brattiness will get you when you’re home.” Remus scoffed. “Take your clothes off.”

“Yes Daddy,” Sirius said sweetly, throwing their shirt to the end of the bed and wiggling out of their shorts and briefs.

“Thank you for listening princess.”

Sirius grinned, rolling onto their side now and smiling at him. “I wish you were here.”

“I wish I was there too. Can you wrap your hand around yourself?” Remus asked with a grin.

“I  _ could _ ,” Sirius replied. “Would you like me to?”

“Yes, you need to. Do you want me to get undressed?”

“If you want,” Sirius murmured, their gaze flickering over him on the screen as they reached down to close their fingers around their cock. “Take your shirt off, if you like.”

“I can do that for you.” Remus pulled the shirt up and off then picked up his phone. “Are your strokes nice and slow?”

“Mhmm.” Sirius reached over with their free hand to turn the camera a little. “Just like you like.”

“Good job. I wish I was the one doing that to you while I was kissing your stomach and thighs.”

“Ah, yeah? I love when you do that,” they murmured, imagining it for a moment whilst drinking in the sight of Remus shirtless.

“You do, don’t you?” He grinned. “I love the taste of your skin after your workout.”

“Yeah? It’s so warm here too.” Sirius smiled, biting their lip.

“Lick your hand then wrap it back around yourself,” Remus instructed them. “If I did that you’d take my fingers in your mouth.”

Sirius groaned, reluctantly bringing their hand up to lick a stripe across their palm. They stayed there for a moment, thinking about Remus’ fingers instead of their own. “Mmm, I would. Love your fingers in my mouth.”

“Wrap them back around you then you can bring your other fingers up to your mouth.”

“You’re so smart Daddy,” Sirius said, flashing him a grin as they rolled onto their side towards their phone, wrapping their hand around their cock and leaning on the other elbow, chin on their palm.

“You’re being so good, I’m trying to give you what I can without being there.” Remus shuffled down against the pillows.

“You know I get all antsy before a competition.” Sirius bit their lip.

“Yeah, I know. I want to make you feel good though.” He smirked. “Fingers in your mouth and pretend they’re mine. Stroke yourself faster.”

“Mm, yours taste better.” Sirius watched him eagerly, swirling their tongue around the tips of two fingers, overtly, so he could see, moving their hand a little faster.

“That’s it, keep going. Suck on the fingers and twist your wrist on your upstroke. Do exactly like I would.” His voice was calm and even.

Sirius groaned softly, sucking their fingers and wishing they were Remus’. They twisted their wrist, thumbing over the head as they shivered.

“You can come when you want. I just want you to feel good. I wish I was there with my hand around you and my fingers in your mouth. I wish I was kissing your skin and holding you as you came.”

“Ahh, fuck,” Sirius breathed, tipping their chin back a little as they stroked faster, gripping firmer.

“You’re so beautiful like this. God, I want to kiss your neck and bite at the sensitive spot,” he said with an almost sad look.

Sirius let their eyes fall shut for a moment, imagining Remus here with them, feeling the edge of their orgasm approaching.

“Come for me princess, I want to see you come.”

“Ah  _ fuck _ ,” Sirius yelped, their hips lifting up as they came over their own stomach, their hand just moving and coaxing them through it.

“You’re so perfect,” Remus murmured. “I love you.”

Sirius relaxed against the sheets, opening their eyes again to look at him. “I love you too.”

Remus grinned as he put his arm under the pillow he was leaning on. “You feeling -- ha, another polaroid?” He chuckled, moving to lift up the pillow.

Sirius laughed, reaching over for the very conveniently placed box of tissues on the nightstand. “Oh yeah? What’s this one?”

“It’s the picture of my name on your arse.”

“Ah, that’s where I’d put that one. I had fun hiding them all.”

He held it up to the phone. “How many are there?”

Sirius shrugged, remembering the paddle and the marks it left. “I don’t remember.”

“Well, I look forward to finding them all.” Remus set the picture aside.

“You’ll have to tell me when you do find them.” Sirius smiled, stifling a yawn into their elbow. “I need to shower.”

“Ah, I guess you should.” He nodded.

“Do you want me to set my phone on the vanity?” They sat up, picking their phone up. “It’s like you’re here keeping me company.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.” Remus rolled on to his stomach, holding the phone in front of him. “Anything good happen today? How’s Marly?”

“Marly’s good, as always. We had a good catch up. Oh! Did you know she and Dorky actually met in a BDSM club?” Sirius went to the bathroom, turning the shower on.

“Ha! No! Where is there a BDSM club nearby?” Remus asked with a laugh.

“In Godric’s, I’m sure. She never said, but she did say we should go with them one day.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, we could go, it might be fun! I’m good either way.” Sirius pulled off the tiara—which they’d forgotten they were wearing until they looked in the mirror—and the tie from their hair.

“Maybe someday.” Remus nodded, watching them.

“Wasn’t sure if it was something you’d be into,” Sirius murmured, setting their phone on the little shelf in the shower, thankful it was waterproof.

“I mean, I’ve never thought about it. I don’t know much about it.”

“Neither do I. I can ask Marly for more information if you like. Or you can ask Dorky at work.” Sirius thought of their conversation with Marlene, grinning at how obviously different their styles were.

“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that right now. Maybe some other time. You could ask Marly though.”

“Okay.” Sirius shot him a smile through their phone. “I can do that caro.”

“I wonder what it’s like.” Remus looked thoughtful.

“Marly hasn’t really talked about it, but I imagine it’s fun. I dunno, everyone doing scenes and things?”

“I’m not sure if I like the whole… I don’t know, it being so open? But then again my scale is right near meh, so ask me another day.” He snickered.

“That makes sense! I think there are private rooms and such but doesn’t that just defeat the point? We can talk about it when you’re  _ all the sex now _ .”

“That’s probably a good idea.” Remus yawned.

Sirius shut the shower off, grabbing a towel. “You should sleep.”

“You should too.” Remus shot back.

“I know. Comp is at 2pm, by the way. Then finals the morning after.”

“Okay, I’ll be sending you obnoxious messages of support.” He got under the covers.

“Please do,” Sirius said, blowing him a kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” He blew a kiss back.

“Goodnight caro.”

“Good night my pearl.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warning: mention of past non-con in this chapter!

Remus was glad that Sirius was going to be back after the finals, not that he didn’t want them to compete. He wished that he was there with them but PureFit was hosting an amateur climbing competition Saturday, the day of Sirius’ first round. So he was going to be busy while Sirius doing their thing, he couldn’t even have Marly video chat with him while they were on stage.

“Big day today, huh?” Dorky was drinking a horrid green smoothie when Remus walked into reception. She was leaning on the counter with a grin.

“Yeah, when’s Marly on?”

“Oh, I meant you dealing with the amateurs.” She laughed. “But she’s on at 3:45.”

“Ah, she’ll be great but Sirius will beat her since they don’t split genders.”

“Oh! That’s real cool. I’m still rooting for Marly though.”

“I figured.” Remus walked towards the climbing hall.

“Hey, drinks after work? Seeing as they’re off gallivanting without us.” Dorcas gestured with her smoothie.

“Eh, maybe.” Remus shrugged. He just wanted to go home and video chat with Sirius after his day.

Dorcas shrugged. “No bother. Marly mentioned she and Sirius talked, is all, and how we could have a similar conversation.”

“What kind of conversation?” Remus hummed with a raised eyebrow. “If it’s about the club, I’m not into the idea at the moment.”

“Ha, so Sirius mentioned it too. Nah, not the club. I think Marly said something along the lines of  _ maybe talking to Remus would make you less of a stickler for the rules, seeing as I’ve heard he’s very ‘nice’ _ . I said that wasn’t the case obviously, but I thought it would be funny.”

Remus felt himself flush. He wanted to know what Sirius and Marlene talked about because he thought it was just about the club. They knew he didn’t like their sex life put out there. “Did she?”

“Yep. Obviously then I chastised her for being cheeky,” Dorcas said with a grin, shrugging one shoulder.

He pushed opened the door to the hall, seeing Gideon and Fabian by the desk in there. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

Dorcas frowned a little as she drank the rest of her smoothie. “Forget I said anything Moony, don’t worry about it.”

“No, it’s okay.” Remus waved a hand.

“Alright, alright.” Dorcas waved a hand back, starting down towards the gym.

“It’s really all right.” Remus laughed. “It’s not you.”

“It’s most likely Marlene, honestly. She’s awful with this shit. Catch you at lunch Moony, good luck with the amateurs!”

“Thanks, Dorky.” Remus called after her, reaching into his pocket for his phone.

He typed out,  **What exactly did you and Marly talk about** _ ,  _ but then deleted it because it was too close to the competition. Remus didn’t want to ruin their time because he was annoyed. So instead he texted something nicer.

**Good luck today! I might be caught up at 2, so I wanted to text now**

_ Thank you!  _ _  
_ _ We’re just looking around the vendors this morning. I’m on at 2 exactly, providing people don’t overrun. I can see if Marly will film my routine or something for you _ _  
_ _ Love you _

Remus sighed, feeling somewhat bad that he was mad at them but it was their private life, right?

**Have fun and good luck!** **  
** **Love you too.**

He tucked his phone away then went to start to get things together. The competition wasn’t bouldering, so they needed to check the belays and get everything together. Remus busied himself, chatting with the twins, as he worked and he managed to even put the whole conversation out of his mind. It shouldn’t have been a big deal, Marlene and Sirius always overshared everything.

“Alright Moony?” Gideon said, coming over and clapping Remus on the shoulder. “All ready for today?”

“All right. I’m ready. It’s going to be mad in here.” Remus shook his head.

“Yeah, it’s gonna be a wild ride. We got it though. How many gold medals between us? Not to mention teaching qualifications.” Gideon grinned, running a hand through his hair. 

“Very true.” Remus leaned against the wall. “Have you proposed to Amelia yet? It’s going on like five years, mate.”

Gideon rolled his eyes. “We don’t believe in having a piece of paper to solidify our commitment with each other Remus,” he said very dryly, smiling.

“Oh, but it’s so nice.” Remus grinned at him. “You guys could do some ceremony. I’m sure Mare and my mam have some weird rituals they know about,” he joked.

“Ha! Well if we decide on a handfasting by moonlight or some shit, I’ll let you know.”

“Good, you should.” Remus pushed off the wall. “Do we know how many people we’re expecting?”

Gideon thought for a moment. “Shit, I dunno. Around 25, I think?”

“All right, that’s good. Lots of supporters too, I’m sure.” Remus nodded. “You going to the comp in London in a couple weeks?”

“Yeah, Fab and I are in the duo climb together. Should be good. You’re there right?”

“Yeah… I think we could still sign up for the team climb if you two wanted. I wasn’t sure how my ankle was going to be doing, but I could do it.” Remus started for the desk.

“You think you’re back up to competing standards, mate?” Gideon gave him a stern look, falling into step with him.

“Fuck off, I’m good.” Remus scoffed.

“Ha! Okay okay. We can sign up. I’ll check the deadlines.”

“Perfect.” He picked up the sign up sheet to check to see how many people were actually coming.

Gideon skirted round and grabbed his phone from the desk. “I’m checking the website, see if we can sign up. So long as you promise not to break yourself again because I’m pretty sure your spouse would have my head.”

“Ha, they would have my head. I will not break myself, you arsehole.” Remus shook his head.”

Gideon just grinned broadly. “Glad to hear it.”

Remus smiled back then went back to working on getting everything together. Soon enough the hall was packed with people. Remus’ job was getting people on the belay and making sure they didn’t do anything stupid. The stream of people kept his mind off worrying how Sirius was doing. He barely even noticed the crowd that was packed into the hall.

The day was going nice and smooth, until the end of the competition. People we allowed to free climb, and Remus was thankfully given a break. He didn’t want to deal with all of that. As he weaved through the crowd he wasn’t paying much attention to anything. Just as he got to the desk he felt a hand on his shoulder, thinking it was Gid, Fab, or just about anyone he worked with or even one of his friends, he turned around with a smile.

“Re,” Fenrir was there smiling.

Remus’ smile fell and he felt his heart drop. “That’s not my name.” He cleared his throat. He couldn’t let himself crumble like the last time, especially not in the middle of his job.

Fenrir’s smile didn’t change even a little bit. “Sure it is. How have you been?”

Remus shook his hand off, and stepped back. “Why are you here?”

“Just here for the amateur day. Bringing Michael here to try it out. How have you been though? You never said.”

“Can’t you just fuck off?” He stomach churned. “Don’t you get I don’t want to see you?”

“Just thought I’d come and say hi, Re. That’s all. You look like you’re doing well for yourself.” Fenrir was still smiling, standing close.

“Not that it matters to you but I’m very well and very happily married to someone who actually cares about me. If you don’t step back I’m going to break your nose.” He could feel his heart beat in every pulse point of his body.

Fenrir held a hand up, not moving any closer. “Not doing anything, just talking aren’t we? And that bloke in the bakery? I remember him.”

“ _ They _ are not a bloke,” Remus corrected. “Why are you still talking to me?”

“We’re old friends, aren’t we? Just catching up.”

“ _ Friends _ ?” Remus practically spat. “You made my life a living hell for about a year and made me push nearly everyone out of my life. Not to mention you -- you raped me.” He took a deep breath.

Fenrir scoffed. “Right, whatever you say Re.”

“Multiple times. Every time I said no and didn’t want to. Now you keep fucking showing up. Fuck off.” He clenched his fists, knowing that he was drawing some looks from around him, but he didn’t care.

“What’s going on -- oh, fuck you. What are you doing here?” Gid’s voice came from behind him.

Remus took another deep breath, feeling relieved.

Fenrir looked between them, one eyebrow raised, a smile on his lips. “Just catching up is all. I’m just leaving.”

“If you come back here, I’ll call the police for harassment.” Gideon came to stand next to Remus. “So, fuck off.”

Remus nodded in agreement, suddenly feeling as if he couldn’t speak with a lump in his throat.

Fenrir chuckled. “Alright. Take care, Re,” he said, waving one hand before starting off towards the doors. Halfway through the crowd he was joined by a blonde man, and he put his arm around their shoulders before walking out.

“I’m going to, ah, go eat something.” Remus glanced at Gideon. He wasn’t hungry, but he also didn’t want to stay there and talk.

“You okay?” Gideon gave him a concerned look after he turned away from the door.

“Yeah, fine.” Remus swallowed hard again. “I’ll be back in a half hour?”

“Sure. I’ll cover for you, take as long as you need. You… you need me to do anything?”

“Nah, no, thanks for coming over though.” He looked to the door again, making sure Fenrir had gone.

“Sure. Wasn’t going to let you handle it by yourself.” Gideon shoved his hands in his pockets, shifting a little.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be back in a little.” Remus left, without waiting for Gideon to reply.

All he wanted to do was go home now. He wondered if he should text Poppy, but it was a Saturday. Remus also knew that if they told Sirius they would lose their mind, so he knew he was going to keep to himself what happened. Only Gid saw, and he knew that he wouldn’t reach out to Sirius about it.

When he got to a quiet corner of the gym, he took out his phone and texted Sirius for some distraction…

**How’d you do?**

It was a moment or two before they replied, and it felt like hours.

_ Hi caro!  _ _  
_ _ Good! We’re waiting on judging but my routine went really well. Marly filmed. I can get her to send it to you. Think I got through with a good chance _ _  
_ _ How is the amateur day going? _ _  
_ _ I miss you _

**I know you’ll make it to the next round.** **  
** **You’re amazing.** **  
** **I miss you and love you 💖**

_ Thank you my love _ _  
_ _ We’re having a bit of a celebration tonight but Marly and I are being good and deciding not to drink so we’re fully prepared for tomorrow. Are you proud?  _ 😜

**I’m very proud of you.**

_ Love you lots _ 💙   
_ Go be awesome and teach all the newbies _

**Love you too 💖**

Remus held onto their phone, knowing Sirius was too wrapped up in it to notice that he never actually answered how his day was going. The idea of telling Sirius that Fenrir popped up was stressful. He didn’t need to say anything to them about it because it would just upset them. There was nothing that Sirius could do to fix it, and giving them something to worry about was so not needed.

Pushing through the rest of the day was difficult. Gideon asked him if he wanted to go home, but Remus knew that if he went home it would just be worse. He’d be sitting there thinking about it the whole entire time. Remembering what Fenrir did and how Remus let himself be treated was still hard to think about, even with all of Poppy’s help. But it was trauma, it was never going to feel good to remember.

Once they were all done and everything was in order, Remus was exhausted. He decided to head straight home. It had been a long day between the event and running into Fenrir. All he wanted to do was sleep. So once he was home, he kicked off his shoes and went to get changed -- well, after he took Snuffles out for a walk. He settled into bed with his laptop and phone, trying to not think about the day, wearing his coziest PJs.

After a few moments, Remus’ phone rang.

_ Incoming Video Call from Sirius  _ 👑

He debated on ignoring it but clicked accept because he knew it would only be worse if he did. “Hi love.”

“Hi caro… you okay?” Sirius was outside some building, the sunset behind them.

“Yeah, why? You look beautiful.” Remus smiled, honestly because they looked like a bloody painting.

“Thank you, it’s lovely here. But you look tired… your eyes are all dark. What’s wrong?” Sirius tucked their hair behind their ear, peering at him earnestly.

“Oh, I am tired. It was a long day and I’m just not feeling well.” Remus put his head on the pillow. “Where are you?”

“We’re at a bar near the harbour, I think. I don’t really know, I just know the hotel is that way--” Sirius gestured over their shoulder, smiling softly-- “Are you getting sick? I’m not there to make sure you’re resting. You’re in bed though, that’s good.”

“Ah, why don’t you go enjoy it? I am resting, I’ll stay in bed, I promise. The only time I’ll get up is to pick you up tomorrow night.” Remus rubbed his face.

Sirius bit their lip. “Yeah… You sure you’re alright? You seem really off, caro. Not just tired.”

“I’m all right.” Remus nodded, knowing that he should just come out with it. He couldn’t ruin Sirius’ competition though, nor could he let them sit there worrying all night.

“You sure?” 

He let out a sharp laugh. “Why are you so worried?”

“You look really tired, Remus. I worry about you.”

“Stop worrying, please. I’m home and okay and Snuffles is looking after me.” He tried to sound firm.

Sirius gave him a look before nodding. “Okay. I’ll let you know when I’m back at the hotel for the night.”

“All right, I’ll probably be asleep. Don’t worry, okay?” Remus nearly pleaded.

“Alright. I love you.”

“I love you too.” Remus smiled softly.

“Goodnight caro.” Sirius blew him a kiss through the camera.

“Night my pearl.” He blew them a kiss then waved once more before hanging up with a sigh.


	18. Chapter 18

Sirius stepped off the plane with a sigh, stretching one arm above their head, then switching their bag to that hand so they could stretch the other. They were glad to be heading home, because they had missed Remus terribly, especially since he was getting sick. 

They had come away from the competition with a silver, which they were pretty pleased with, seeing as it was the first one they had competed in where participants weren’t separated by gender. It had been a good weekend, but now they were just happy to be back on home turf. They headed through Arrivals with Marlene, chattering about the upcoming work week, but as soon as they were through the doors they were looking for Remus, biting their lip.

“Sirius!”

Their head whipped over, following the sound of his voice and they smiled as they saw him. “Hi caro!” They ran ahead of Marlene a little, making a beeline for Remus and hugging him tight when they reached him. He did look awful, and that just made them hold him tighter.

“Hi my pearl. I’m glad you’re home but you’re going to break a rib.” He laughed a little breathlessly.

“Sorry, sorry! I missed you.” Sirius pulled back and kissed him softly. “Hi darling.”

“Hi.” He laughed again, barely kissing back.

“Okay! Stop snogging! Let’s go!” Marlene screeched.

Sirius snorted, taking Remus’ hand. “Like you can talk Marly. I’m glad Dorky isn’t here or I’d be unable to peel you apart.”

“She’s terrible, having a client this late.” Marlene huffed, adjusting her bag.

“All right, come on you two.” Remus rolled his eyes.

“I know, how very dare she?” Sirius smiled, squeezing Remus’ hand as they started towards the exit.

“She’s terribly mean.”

“Oh so I’ve heard.” Sirius grinned at Marlene, sticking their tongue out. “Where are you parked, caro?”

“Not so far.” Remus led them along.

“Good. Did you have a good weekend? Tell me about the amateur day.” 

Remus shrugged. “I just relaxed when I wasn’t at work. Snuffles and I had some good bonding time.”

“Aw, yay of course you did. He loves you.” Sirius swung their hands a little between them, glancing over at Marlene. She was buried in her phone, probably updating Dorcas on her precise location.

“He does, but he misses you.”

“Aww, my best buddy,” Sirius sighed, smiling. They looked back to Remus. Something was off, they were right about their instincts last night, but they weren’t sure  _ what _ . 

“You should take him out when we get back. He’ll be thrilled.” Remus dug his keys out of his pocket.

Sirius bit their lip. Yeah, something was off. Remus wouldn’t suggest them going out with Snuffles without him unless he wanted to be alone. “Yeah, I’m sure he would,” they agreed, bringing their joined hands up to kiss the back of his palm.

“Here we are.” Remus smiled at them then nodded in the direction of his car.

“Shotg—”

“NO! Marly I am sitting next to my husband, fuck off, you can sit in the back.” Sirius shoved her away then ran for the passenger seat.

“You two are like children — well mostly Marlene.” Remus unlocked the doors.

Sirius stuck their tongue out at her, grinning as they climbed into the passenger seat and Marlene threw herself in the back with a little frustrated noise.

“Put something nice on?” Remus asked them as he started the car.

“Of course.” Sirius connected their phone and began scrolling through, putting on  _ Pet Sounds _ after a moment.

Remus had a soft smile on his face as he drove them towards Marlene’s.

Sirius and Marlene chatted a little longer about work, because Sirius could tell Remus wanted to be quiet. They were grateful they were going to be alone with Remus when they pulled up to Marlene and Dorcas’ flat though, and turned around to hug Marlene briefly. “See you Tuesday.”

“Bye! See ya Moony!” She hopped out, closing the door behind her.

“Bye,” Remus said but she probably didn’t hear. “Okay, home.”

Sirius put their hand on his knee. “Yeah, home, caro.”

Remus pulled away from Marlene and Dorcas’, still not talking. Sirius watched him, biting their lip. Something was wrong, but they didn’t know what. They hoped if it was something big he would tell them, but they weren’t sure. They kept their hand on his knee as he drove, their thumb rubbing circles over the outside.

Eventually, they got back home and Remus carried Sirius’ luggage up to their flat. “Snuffles is going to tackle you.”

“I know, I’m prepared,” Sirius said, grinning. They could already hear Snuffles whining and shuffling in the hallway. “I’m braced.”

Remus laughed as he carefully opened the door and Snuffles’ snout poked out. “You’ve got to let me in buddy.”

Sirius laughed, following on Remus’ heels to try and usher Snuffles back. “Hi buddy! Get back then and let us in! I missed you!”

Remus managed to get them in without Snuffles running out the door. He gave him a quick pat, but Snuffles completely ignored him. Sirius smiled, following him in and shutting the door behind them before Snuffles jumped up and practically tackled them to the floor. They grinned as they knelt down and gave him some pets. “Hi buddy!”

“He missed you very much. I’ll go put this in the bedroom,” Remus said somewhere behind Snuffles.

‘He did, but that’s okay because I missed you both very much too!” Sirius scrubbed their hands through Snuffles’ fur, patting his belly when he rolled onto his back. They glanced up and watched as Remus headed down the hallway. Something was definitely wrong.

“I missed you very much too,” Remus called back before going into their bedroom.

Eventually Snuffles decided to leave them alone long enough for them to sit on the sofa. “You alright caro?”

“Yeah,” Remus answered from their room.

Sirius got up, patting Snuffles on the way past, and trailed down to the bedroom. “You gonna tell me the truth?”

When Sirius got in, Remus was sitting on the bed with his legs up. “Look, it’s not a big deal, I’m fine.”

“I don’t think you are though, I can tell,” Sirius said softly, sitting on the edge of the bed next to him. “Tell me, please?”

“I don’t really want to because I don’t think that you’ll — it’s not a big deal and I don’t want you to worry.” Remus shook his head.

Sirius bit their lip. That didn’t sound good. “Okay, but I will worry because I love you and I can tell you’re not okay. So I’d really rather you just tell me, especially with your track record of what you consider ‘a big deal’.” They reached over and held a hand out for him to take. “Please?”

“Ugh, okay… I… it’s just that Fenrir showed up yesterday. It’s okay though.” Remus shook his head.

“What?” Sirius frowned, shuffling closer. “Showed up? Like, at work? Here? What happened? Are you okay?” They reached and took his hand, squeezing tightly. “What happened?”

“Stop worrying, I’m okay. It was at work.” Remus shook his head.

“At work. Fuck. Well no, I am gonna worry. Are you okay? What did he say to you? Did you tell him to fuck off? I’m gonna kill him.”

“Don’t, Sirius, it’s fine. I really am over it and I just want to move on from it. I’ll talk to Poppy.” Remus shook his head.

“Okay… it doesn’t seem like you’re over it though,” they said as softly as possible, reaching out with their other hand to cup his cheek. “Did you sleep at all last night?”

“I did.” Remus nodded.

Sirius bit their lip, trying to tell if he was lying. “Okay. I will worry though, because that’s a big thing… Why didn’t you tell me last night? I knew something was wrong.”

“It’s not a big thing, okay? I don’t want it to be. I didn’t tell you because you were far away and I didn’t want you to panic over nothing.”

“Okay. I wish you’d told me, because then I could support you better. What do you need?”

“Really, if I told you last night what would you have done?” Remus raised an eyebrow.

“Stayed on the phone with you. Distracted you, told you how much I love you and what I’d been doing all day and just kept you company because I know you shut down and shut yourself away.” Sirius frowned, brushing their thumb over his cheekbone. 

“You would have got angry and stressed and basically flown home. I didn’t want to ruin your competition. Can we not talk about this anymore? I’ll talk to Poppy. You don’t have to worry, I swear.”

“I know I don’t have to, but I will.” Sirius sighed. “Okay, if you don’t want to talk. But I’m here if you do. I want to make sure you’re okay.” They attempted a little smile, rubbing their thumb over the bridge of his nose. “You might be the Daddy here but I still want to look after you.”

“I know you do.” Remus let out a long breath then lied back. “I need to go to sleep, I have work in the morning.”

“Okay. Remember I have tomorrow off for comp recovery,” Sirius noted, shifting up to sit next to Remus, trailing their fingers through his hair. 

“I know.” Remus closed his eyes.

Sirius pressed a kiss to his forehead, watching him for a moment and letting the worry finally seep out now he had his eyes closed. “Love you caro.”

“Love you.”

Sirius smiled softly, still stroking Remus’ hair. They knew he wasn’t okay, but he wasn’t going to tell them anything further, at least not until he had calmed down a little. They stayed there a little longer, happy to just be home, before sitting back. Eventually, they got off the bed to get changed, not quite ready to sleep despite how tired they were, just trying to wind down.

Remus stayed asleep though, as they pottered around unpacking their case. After a moment’s deliberation they decided to shower quickly to get the travelling grime off, hoping he would stay asleep until they got out again. He at least  _ looked _ asleep when Sirius came back into the bedroom, Snuffles on their heels.

Perhaps he would want to talk tomorrow, they thought as they made sure Snuffles had water before climbing into bed themselves to catch up with emails.

In the morning, Remus was quiet as he got up and went to work. Sirius knew he wasn’t telling them the whole story about Fenrir but they couldn’t push right now, so they just let him go off to work whilst trying to be as supportive as possible. They took Snuffles for a run to spend some quality time with him—he was very happy to see them, apparently—before deciding to head to PureFit and take Remus out for lunch on his break.

After waving to the receptionist—Reg must’ve had a day off—they headed in to the climbing area, glad they had gotten there a little early so they could take a moment to watch Remus climb.

“Hey! Sirius, how’s it going? How’s Moony?” Gideon came over to them as he walked through the doors.

“Hi Gid!” Sirius was struck with the remembrance Remus had had a threesome with Gideon, but they quickly shoved that out of their mind. “It’s good. I’m here to whisk him away for lunch, actually. How are you guys?”

“He’s was really shaken after Fenrir practically cornered him the other day, and I know he’s a big liar when it comes to telling people how he feels.” Gid looked over his shoulder. “I’m all right.”

_ Cornered him? _ Sirius frowned, looking over to the climbing walls and easily spotting Remus. “Yeah, he is,” they said, trying not to be short with Gideon because he didn’t know. Remus had just said Fenrir had showed up, not that the bastard had  _ cornered _ him and he’d been really shaken by it all. “Glad to hear it, Gid.” Sirius cleared their throat and went to move past him. “I’m gonna go whisk my husband away.”

“He can have the rest of the day, it’s slow and I know you’ve been away and he looks dead tired.”

Sirius paused, glancing back at Gideon. “Thanks. I’ll tell him. Knowing Remus he’ll want to come back but I’ll put my foot down, yeah?” They managed a smile. “Have a good day.”

“Yeah, you do that. See you later.”

Sirius waved before crossing over to where Remus was climbing. Usually they loved to watch him climb, but they could barely focus on it today. Instead they sat on the bench towards the middle, watching half-heartedly. After a few seconds, Remus glanced down to see them and started to descend down the wall. Sirius smiled and waved, standing up to head towards him when his feet touched the ground.

“Hi caro.”

“Hi love, what’re you doing here?” He walked over to them, a little out of breath.

“Thought I’d come whisk you away for lunch,” they said, smiling. “Then I ran into Gid and he said it’s quiet enough for you to take the afternoon off, if you wanted. So maybe we can get takeout from that bistro across the road and head home?”

Remus furrowed his brow. “I’ll do lunch, but I should come back.”

“Right.” Sirius sighed, glancing to Gideon by the desk before looking back to Remus. “Is there something you wanna tell me?”

“What?” Remus frowned, his furrow deepening.

“Gideon just asked how you were because you were ‘really shaken’ after Fenrir ‘cornered you’.”

“He’s being dramatic,” Remus said quickly, paling a bit. “I was in the middle of the crowd.”

“I don’t think Gid is very dramatic on the whole. He said you were shaken up, Remus. Will you just talk to me about this? I thought when you said Fenrir showed up at work you just meant you literally saw him across the room or he came in to use the gym or something. What happened, really?”

“Nothing, he just said hello and was an arsehole.” Remus looked around. “Can we not do this here?”

Sirius ran a hand through their hair, snagging the tie out of it and bundling it back up into a bun. “Okay. Can we go home then? Because I really want to talk about this. Have you texted Poppy?”

“We can talk when I come home from work.” Remus rubbed the back of his neck. “Do you want to do lunch?”

“No. Come home, I want you to come home.”

Remus opened and closed his mouth. “Sirius, I’m fine and it’s okay.”

“Good, then you’re fine to come home and spend the afternoon with me because I’ve been away for the weekend.”

“I should be working. We can do lunch and then I’ll be home in a few hours.”

Sirius gave a big sigh before turning and calling over their shoulder. “Gideon!”

“Yeah?” Gid looked over at them.

“Can you tell him to take the fucking afternoon off please? For Christ’s sake.”

“Sirius…”

“No, shut up Remus.”

“Moony, take the fucking afternoon off!”

Sirius crossed their arms. “Do I have to drag you out of here? Because I will.”

“Really?” Remus’ eyes widened. “I’m okay.”

“For fuck’s sake Moony!” Fabian piped up from across the room. “Go home will you? You’re a fucking energy vampire today.”

“Where the fuck did you learn that phrase from, Fab?” Gideon shouted back.

“Mary! Also, fuck off!” 

Sirius raised an eyebrow at Remus. “Come home. I want you to come home and talk to me.”

“I will talk to you.” Remus’ voice was quiet. “Please, just let me work.”

“Remus…” Sirius bit their lip. They didn’t want to let him pull away, they knew he did this when he was anxious, but they didn’t want to push too hard. Didn’t he tell them to push though?

He huffed a breath then turned on his heel, walking towards the desk. Sirius stepped back a little, frowning. They trailed after him halfway, unsure if they had pushed too far now, but they really didn’t want him to just shut down over this.

Thankfully, Remus just reached over and grabbed his wallet, phone, and keys then started for the doors without saying anything.

_ Oh shit _ . Sirius jogged after him to catch up, waving a quick goodbye over their shoulder to Gideon and Fabian. “Remus.”

“What? I’m going home.” He shoved his hands in his pockets.

Sirius sighed. Oh good, now he was annoyed. “I’m headed there too, how about we walk together?”

“Yeah.” He slowed down a little.

They caught up to him and tucked their hand in the crook of his elbow. “You tell me to push back when you pull away like this, and I don’t want you to pull away.”

“I didn’t mean in the middle of work.”

“When else would I do it? You left with barely two words to me this morning, and if we’d tried to talk this evening you would’ve said you were too tired and gone to bed and feigned sleep. The longer you bottle it up the worst it gets, Remus.”

“I would have talked to you tonight.” Remus’ voice broke a little then he cleared his throat.

“I’m really sorry, but I don’t believe you.” Sirius bit their lip, pausing at the bus stop.

“Yeah, I figured because I’ll just lie to you anyway.” He didn’t stop walking. “I want to walk home.”

Sirius didn’t loosen their grip on his arm, biting their lip harder. “Well I don’t. I’m sore from the comp, so can we get the bus, please?”

Remus let out a long breath through his nose, coming to a stop. “Okay.”

“Thank you,” they said, squeezing his arm a little. “Did you have a good few classes this morning?”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

“Good, that’s good.” Sirius tugged him a little closer, wrapping their arm around his waist. “On the bus I’ll order to collect lunch from the Greek place around the corner, what do you think?”

“I’m not hungry, you can get something though.” Remus shook his head as the bus came up the street.

“Alright,” Sirius murmured, stifling a sigh before stepping away so they could get on the bus when it pulled up.

“You should get that stuff you like,” Remus encouraged them.

“Oh, the spinach parcel things?” Sirius went to find a seat, smiling softly. They were going to order Remus something anyway. “They are really good.”

“Mmmhmm, yeah.” Remus sat next to them.

Sirius pulled out their phone to order, scrolling through the menu and adding their usual favourites. “Ooh, I might get some chicken souvlaki too,” they said, knowing that was Remus’ favourite.

“Okay.”

With another stifled sigh, Sirius ordered the food and sat in a semi-awkward quiet with Remus until they got home. Luckily, the Greek place was on their street, so they could just get off the bus one stop early and walk the short distance from the restaurant to the flat. Snuffles greeted them both instantly and tried to jam his nose into the bag of food, which Sirius promptly batted him away from. 

Remus kicked off his shoes and went right for the sofa, not saying anything. Sirius bit their lip, making a detour into the kitchen to grab two plates (just in case Remus wanted one) before settling on the sofa next to him, the food conveniently between them.


	19. Chapter 19

Shifting on the sofa, Remus didn’t know what to say. He didn’t expect Sirius to come to see him, nor did he think that Gid would say anything. Really, he wasn’t sure why Sirius was so upset about it all. It’s not as if anything happened. Telling them what he did the night before wasn’t a lie. He could see how upset Sirius was getting and it hurt. If he just got on with things and talked to Poppy on Thursday, it’d be all right, he was sure.

“I’m sorry you’re upset.” He glanced over at Sirius.

They chewed a mouthful of pastry before answering. “Not upset, more worried.”

“You don’t have to be.” Remus moved so he was sitting sideways to look at Sirius. He rubbed his hands over his face. “Fenrir came in. He was a dick and I told him to fuck off and I didn’t feel great afterwards.”

“Of course you didn’t feel great. You came face to face with the man who raped you several times.”

He shifted again in his seat. “I know.”

“And really, telling me I don’t  _ have _ to be worried is useless, because it’s not as if I make a conscious choice over whether to worry about my husband’s wellbeing. I love you, therefore I am invested when you aren’t okay. I’m going to worry, but I’ll worry less when you talk to me.”

“There’s nothing to say though.” Remus let out a groan.

Sirius bit their lip, turning sideways on the sofa too so they could look at him. “Isn’t there? Obviously it upset you seeing him. Did he even acknowledge that you didn’t want to talk to him?”

He felt his heart rate picking up and his palms started to get clammy. “Yeah, no, and I told him off.”

“I’m very glad you did.”

“Yeah, so… it’s fine. I’m…” Remus stood up, running a hand through his hair. “Nothing actually happened. He left after like two minutes.” He started to pace.

“Right, and nothing actually happening is why you’re so anxious, of course.” Sirius gave him a look.

Remus stopped pacing and shook his head. “That’s…”

Sirius sat forward, scraping their hands through their hair and putting their elbows on their knees. “Then work with me here Remus, please. We’re a team, aren’t we? Talk to me, let me in.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. I told you what happened.” Remus looked at Snuffles.

“Okay,” Sirius said softly. “So then let’s get back to normal. Come and cuddle with me and eat this chicken souvlaki, I ordered way too much.”

“I’m not hungry.” Remus shook his head. “I’m going to shower.”

“Right.”

“Right.” He started for the bathroom.

Sirius didn’t say anything, just let Snuffles jump up on the sofa next to them and put their arm around him.

Without another word, Remus went into the bathroom. He turned the water on hot, got undressed, and then just stood under the water for a while. What was wrong with him anyhow? He shouldn’t be so anxious and he should be able to just talk to Sirius. No wonder they didn’t want to have a kid with him yet. He couldn’t even  _ talk _ . Why couldn’t he just feel normal?

After far too long in the shower, when Remus’ fingers started to wrinkle, he finally got out. He tied his towel around his waist then slipped into the bedroom, trying to will himself not to just crawl into bed. Once Remus changed, he sat on the edge of the bed. It was a wonder that Sirius dealt with him sometimes. They must have really loved him because Remus felt like a closed off bastard most of the time.

It took him a few more minutes longer, Remus finally went back out into the living room.

“Yeah, I know. I just don’t know how to help him. I feel like I always go about it the wrong way Hope.”

Remus frowned, leaning against the wall in the hallway for a moment. They were talking to his mam about this?

“I know, dear,” His mam’s voice came out tinny over the speakerphone. “It’s nothing you’ve done and I’m sure you’re doing it all just right.”

“Yeah… it just feels like he doesn’t  _ trust _ me or something. He doesn’t want to talk about his feelings and if he can’t with me then does he just bottle them all up? I worry about him doing that.”

Remus closed his eyes and took another deep breath.

“That’s Remus, isn’t it, though? I know you worry, but I know you’ve tried your best. He’s still going to Poppy, right?”

“Yeah. I think his next appointment is Thursday. I hope she can help.”

“I’m sure she will. Don’t think you’re not helping though, Sirius Lupin-Black.”

Sirius sniffed. “Yeah.”

Remus’ heart clenched in his chest.

“You are helping, I’m sure.”

“Yeah, I guess. Feel like I make things worse sometimes.”

“You don’t. Don’t say that. You’re the best thing that’s happened to my son, he’s just a stubborn bastard,” his mam lectured Sirius.

Remus rubbed his face again then walked the rest of the way out of the hallway. He went for the kitchen, deciding to make tea.

“Yeah, he is.” Sirius fell quiet for a moment and Snuffles trotted into the kitchen to nuzzle Remus’ hand. “Okay, I gotta go Hope. See you soon?”

“Yes, dear, let’s have lunch soon. Bye now. It’ll be okay.”

Remus filled the kettle with water. Snuffles sat down next to him, rubbing his head on Remus’ thigh.

“Thanks Hope. Bye, take care.”

He clicked the kettle on then sat down heavily on the ground. He wrapped his arms around Snuffles and groaned. Why couldn’t he just let Sirius help?

After a few moments, Sirius appeared in the doorway, then padded over, kissed Snuffles on the head, then Remus on the forehead. “Hi.”

“Hi.” Remus didn’t look up. He cleared his throat, trying to think of what to say.

Sirius stayed there, petting Snuffles.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m sorry,” Remus said, still holding on to Snuffles, who licked his arm.

“Don’t apologise.”

“You’re upset and I’m an arsehole.” He kept his voice low.

“You’re not an arsehole but I am upset because you’re hurting and I want to be able to help.” Sirius continued to pet Snuffles as they spoke.

“I’ll be okay.” Remus grimaced because he was such a knee jerk thing for him to say.

“Which is acknowledging you’re not okay right now, and that’s a step closer than we were an hour ago. I want to help you be okay. It would make me feel good to help you.”

He took a deep breath, feeling as if it hurt then looked up at Sirius. When he did, he started to cry. “I really -- really don’t…”

Sirius wrapped their arms around him, stroking his hair. “It’s okay.”

“I don’t know how you -- you love me when I do this to you -- you all… all the time.” He let out a sob, leaning into them and letting go of Snuffles. “It’s no wonder you don’t -- fuck… don’t want a baby w--with me. You’re -- you’re going to leave if I don’t stop and I…” He couldn’t finish what he was saying because he let out another sob.

Sirius just hugged him tighter, pressing a kiss to his hair. “Christ, that’s not it at all darling. I love you so much. I’m not going to leave. I just want to help you feel better.”

“Sometimes it doesn’t feel like -- like I’m going to get better.” He buried his face in their chest.

“That’s okay. I just want to be here for you Remus. I hate seeing you like this, I want to help.”

He shook his head a little. “You can’t though.”

“I can just be here then, and if you ever want to talk, I’m here. I’m not going anywhere and I love you.”

Remus sniffled, his tears still flowing. “You -- you’re right to think we’re not ready for kids.”

“My reservations about having kids are all about me, not you, caro. You will make a wonderful Dad, I know it.”

“Not when I feel like this.” He tried to take a breath.

Sirius’ hand rubbed down his spine and over his back, slow and soothing. “It’s okay, it’s all right.”

“It’s not.” He sniffled again.

“Okay. What happened, hm?”

“I don’t -- I don’t even know.” Remus lifted his head. “He just kept trying to talk to me to catch up with me and I told him off and he didn’t… wouldn’t leave. So what’s the point of being able to tell him to fuck off?”

“Because you stood up to him and didn’t let him walk all over you. I’m proud of you for telling him to fuck off.” Sirius kissed his forehead, their hands still stroking through his hair and down his back.

“Then I just fell apart again.” Remus let out a shaky breath.

“But that was only the second time you’ve seen him since, right? I’d be surprised if you’d be okay seeing him, especially after what you and Poppy have talked about.” Sirius’ voice was soft close to his ear.

“I just… I wanted to disappear.” He scrunched his nose. “I just want to curl up in bed and sleep for days right now.”

“If you want to do that we can.” Sirius kissed his forehead again. “Though I’d very much prefer if you didn’t disappear.”

Remus pressed his palms to his eyes. “We have to work.”

He felt Sirius shrug. “Nah, we don’t. This is more important.”

“How are we going to pay our bills? Plus, you’d get bored after an hour.” Remus pushed back a little bit.

“We’d manage for a week. I can pull strings at work and I’m sure you’ve got time spare to take off. I’d rather look after you than be at work.”

Remus shook his head. “I can’t do that to you.”

“You’re not. Believe it or not I’m an adult capable of my own decisions,” Sirius murmured, nudging their elbow into his side.

He scoffed, shaking his head. “Right.”

“Now I know Daddy likes making all the decisions but let me make this one hm?”

“No, I can’t let you. I’ll feel better working and I’ll feel worse if you’re sitting in bed watching me be depressed.” Remus shook his head again.

“Okay, but I don’t like the idea of you just ignoring everything and pretending it’s fine at work.” Sirius brushed his hair back. “Are you seeing Poppy on Thursday?”

“Yeah, I’ll see her Thursday.” Remus went to stand up. “Let’s go to the bed. You’re sore.”

“Not so bad. I said that just to get you on the bus.” Sirius pitched back though, to let him stand and stand up themselves. “Bed sounds good.”

“Figured you did.” Remus rolled his eyes, holding his hand out.

Sirius instantly took his hand and pressed a kiss to his knuckles. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” Remus felt as if he was going to cry again.

Sirius kept a hold of his hand. “And I will love you no matter what. You’re stuck with me now.” They rubbed their thumb over his wedding ring. “I want you to let me in so you can lean on me. I’ll worry less if I know what you’re thinking.”

The tears spilt over again. “I don’t know why sometimes -- why you want to be stuck with me. Come on, let’s go to bed please.”

“Because I love you, that’s why.” Sirius tugged him down the hall and into the bedroom. “Simple as that.”

Remus nodded, letting himself be pulled. “If you ever…”

“No thank you, shush.” Sirius took his other hand and kissed his knuckles in turn. “C’mon, bed, so I can get in my pyjamas.”

“You… you can though.” Remus swallowed hard. “It’s only just past noon.”

“Bed, man. I want comfy pyjamas and shitty movies you can fall asleep halfway through.” Sirius kissed the corner of his mouth.

Remus fell into the bed. “I’m being serious, you know.” He pushed the duvet away.

“What are you being serious about?” Sirius pulled off their shirt, glancing over to him.

“Leaving, if you needed to.” He leaned back against the pillows, watching them.

Sirius paused in pushing their leggings off. “ _ Needed to. _ Why on earth would I ever want to leave the best thing that happened to me, hey?”

He gave them a wet smile. “Because I make you worried and stressed and upset and I’m a stubborn bastard…”

“You are a stubborn bastard, but I love you for it. I don’t like when you’re upset and hurting, but I love so many things about you and even if you frustrate me when you’re stubborn and don’t let me in, then I still love you and you make me deliriously happy.” Sirius pulled on their sweats and an old PureFit shirt of Remus’ as they spoke before climbing into the bed next to him. “I love you, Remus Lupin-Black, and that means pulling what the hell happened out of you and picking you up out of an anxious spiral on the kitchen floor.”

“I-- I -- love you so much.” Remus shuffled down the bed. “I’d be such a grumpy git without you.”

“I know you would.” Sirius smiled, rolling onto their side facing him. “So really I’m doing the world a favour.”

“They’ll make you a saint one day.” He reached up to cup their cheek.

They turned and kissed his palm. “Oh hey, Saint Sirius, that has a ring to it, you know?”

“Too bad I’ll be long dead to worship you.” Remus wiped his eyes with his free hand.

“You do that already every day darling. I’m on top of the Pillars of Lupin remember.” Sirius chuckled, smiling at him.

“Right.” He brushed a hand down their neck to where they were wearing the necklace he had bought them long ago.

“I love you.”

“Not as much as I love you.” He fingered at one of the stars.

Sirius’ eyelashes fluttered for a moment. “Mm I find that hard to believe.”

“Mmm, it’s equal?” Remus offered.

Sirius smiled wider. “Deal.”

“That was easy.” Remus dropped his hand. “Though, it’s true. The atoms and such.”

“Mhmm, the atoms,” Sirius murmured indulgently, ducking their head to kiss his forehead.

“I’m so lucky.” He wrapped his arms around them, hoping they would cuddle with him. He felt completely drained now, and just wanted to fall asleep even though it was only early afternoon. Maybe a nap with Sirius would do him some good. He hadn’t slept properly in a couple days now.

Sirius cuddled in next to him, stroking their hands down his back. “We’re both lucky to have each other.”

Remus moved so he could rest his head on their chest. “I know I said you could leave if you wanted but don’t.” He shook his head.


	20. Chapter 20

Sirius sighed softly, kissing the top of Remus’ head. “I won’t leave, caro.”

“Good.” Remus looked up at them with tired eyes. “Maybe I can take a day or two from work.”

“I think that’s a really good idea,” Sirius agreed quietly, trailing their free hand through his hair. It was so awful to see Remus so upset, but Sirius was almost glad now, that he had just poured it all out instead of keeping it welled up inside him. They would rather him cry than be all closed off.

“I’m going to fall asleep.” He yawned.

Sirius smiled softly. “An even better idea. Rest, caro.”

“Okay.” He settled back down.

“Love you,” Sirius hummed, kissing the top of his head again. “It’s all alright.”

“Love you too.” Remus’ voice was thick with sleep already.

Sirius waited for a long few moments, loathe to disturb him, before reaching in their pocket for their phone to text Hope.

_ We’re doing okay. Thank you for the talk earlier x _

They set their phone on the side, happy to stay with Remus for a while. They had had a long weekend, so maybe a nap wouldn’t be so bad after all.

“Sirius.” Remus’ nudged them sometime later.

“Mm?” Sirius frowned. Wasn’t Remus the one napping? “You okay?”

“Yeah, but I think someone is ringing up?” He sat up.

“Okay, I’ll get it. Go back to sleep caro. It’s maybe just a delivery guy wanting in for another flat.” Sirius pressed a kiss to his forehead then slipped out of bed, stifling a yawn as they went down the hallway to the buzzer.

“Hello?”

“Hi, dear, it’s Hope, I’ve brought dinner,” Hope’s voice came through all crackly but she sounded light.

Sirius smiled to themselves, rubbing a hand through their hair. “Oh you are an actual angel,” they murmured, pressing the door release. “Come on up.”

“Coming.”

Remus came out behind them, leaning against the wall. “She came over?” He looked at Sirius in disbelief. “You must have really made her nervous.”

“She brought dinner.” Sirius smiled. “I just wanted her input, because she knows you’re a stubborn git.”

“Ha, I’m sure it’s something good at least.” Remus moved to open the door as Sirius heard Hope coming up the stairs.

Sirius stepped back to let him, going to grab Snuffles as he barrelled to the door to say hello to whoever it was.

“Hi mam.”

“Hi dear, are you doing okay?” Hope kissed Remus on the cheek then he stepped back to let her in. When she came into full view, Sirius saw that she was carrying a crockpot.

“That smells delicious Hope,” Sirius noted, watching Remus to make sure he was alright.

“I was making chili anyway, so I brought it over.” She kissed Sirius on the cheek. “I’ll plug this in to warm it back up.”

Remus took the pot from her instead. “No, I got it.”

Sirius gave her a kiss back, hugging her briefly. “Thank you.”

“No worries, dear. Remus John, go relax, I got it.” She took the chili back from him then turned to Sirius. “Why don’t you two find something to watch on TV, hmm?”

“Mam, I’m okay enough to plug in the crockpot.” Remus complained, but relented and went towards the living room.

“Listen to your mam, Remus,” Sirius said with a smile, following him into the living room.

“Sirius knows what they’re talking about.” She chuckled as she went into the kitchen.

Remus didn’t reply, he just went to sit on the sofa. Sirius shot Hope a little worried look from the doorway before going to sit on the sofa next to Remus. “What do you wanna watch, caro?”

“I don’t know, something funny, I guess.” Remus pulled his legs up onto the sofa then grabbed the blanket draped over the back.

“Alright.” Sirius shuffled a little closer to him, grabbing the remote.

“I’m getting you water, Remus,” Hope called out as she shuffled around the kitchen. “Sirius, do you want anything?”

“I guess wine or a beer is out of the question for me?” He asked, throwing the blanket over Sirius’ legs as well.

“You can if you like, caro.” Sirius nudged their toes under his thigh, smiling softly. “Water for me please, Hope.”

“Water for now.” Hope sounded as if she was getting the water glasses.

Sirius gave Remus a smile. “Water is good.”

He rolled his eyes and dropped his voice. “It’s a depressant and she’s worried.”

“Yes! I am, thank you. Sirius just called me nervous about your mental health.” She came out with three glasses of water.

Sirius smiled at her, then back at Remus. “Well, I mean you’re not wrong, Hope.”

“I don’t think  _ one _ glass would do me harm, but okay, I’ll listen.” He took the offered water before Hope took a seat next to Sirius.

“Probably best,” Sirius said, nudging their foot further under his thigh.

“Are you two doing okay?” Hope questioned. “I won’t take  _ fine _ for an answer.”

“I’m doing… I feel like complete shit.” He squeezed Sirius’ leg.

“You should call Poppy.” She looked over at him.

He glanced at the clock. “She’s not there now, it’s too late. I will tomorrow.”

“You better. How are you Sirius?”

“You can text her, caro.” Sirius put their hand over his, smiling softly. “I’m okay. Better now.”

“Really?” She raised an eyebrow. “You two had me worried. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t sitting right.”

Sirius bit their lip, looking to Remus. He was the one that wasn’t okay right now, so they couldn’t speak for him.

“Sirius, I’m talking to you too.” She put a hand on their shoulder.

“I already said I feel like shit.” Remus rubbed his face.

“Yeah…” Sirius shrugged, wincing a little. They felt awful too, because they felt like they never went about helping Remus the right way, and they had made it worse.

“Yeah? Sirius, it’s important to talk about it, you’ve reminded Remus of that enough today I’m sure.”

Remus frowned, rubbing their leg.

Sirius rolled their eyes. Hope had a point. “Yeah, I’m okay, I’m glad Remus is okay. I just hope I do and say the right things to help you, is all.”

“You do.” Remus leaned into them.

“Don’t let his stubbornness get you do.” Hope stood up again. “I’m going to get our dinner. It should be done now.”

“Do I?” Sirius turned and pressed a kiss to his temple. “I know I get brash and needy because I don’t want you to pull away.”

“I need you to be brash sometimes with this stuff. Look, you pushed and I talked. If you didn’t, I’d still be at work -- well, coming home -- suffering in silence.”

“Yeah,” Sirius agreed. “Okay. I’ll push.”

“Good, you should. I’ve said it enough the last year and a half… actually nearly two years.” Remus picked up the remote Sirius had neglected.

Sirius nodded, chewing their bottom lip. They knew they should push, but in the moment it was hard, when they were convinced fighting back would be the last straw and Remus would leave, or something. They never wanted to push and hurt him, but he needed it.

“Why are you chewing your lip?” He furrowed his brow. “ _ Chewing _ your lip is never good.”

“I know.” Sirius sighed softly, shifting to rub their hand over his upper arm. “I try to push, but I never want to push you too far, and I am always scared I’ll cross that line.”

“You’re not going to cross the line, you couldn’t. The line is so far away, I can’t even see it.” Remus paused with a frown. “I mean, I’ll probably get annoyed and angry at the time, but in the end I’ll be happy you did.”

“Yeah. Okay. I just worry. I don’t like you getting angry, but I know I need to push.”

“Please do.” Remus kissed their forehead. “I love you.”

“I love you too, very much.” Sirius leaned into him, smiling. “Do you feel better after napping?”

“It feels… I don’t know, less heavy I guess? I still feel like crap.”

“That’s fair. You can sleep some more if you like. Maybe after chili.”

“I will.” Remus nodded as Hope came out with a tray of three bowls and some tortilla chips.

The next day, Sirius was more than a little glad they had managed to take the day off. Poppy had managed to fit Remus in for a session, so they took Snuffles out on a walk to meet Remus just when he was finished. It was starting to get warm again for the end of April, so thankfully they weren’t freezing as they jogged around to meet him. They had managed to time it just right so they were outside the building just on the hour.

Remus came out looking tired, still even though he had slept for nearly the whole afternoon and night the day before. “Oh, hi love.” He gave them a soft smile. “And Snuffles.”

“Hello gorgeous,” Sirius murmured, leaning in to peck him on the cheek. “You wanna wander around the park a little?”

“Yeah, that sounds like a great idea.” Remus looped his arm around their waist.

Well, he seemed a little more  _ here _ than he did yesterday, so that was good. Sirius leaned into him, switching Snuffles’ lead to their other hand. “Mm, the weather is decent,” they noted before glancing across at him and watching for a moment. “How are you feeling?”

“Tired.” He let out a long sigh. “A little better talking to Poppy. She gave me a good talking to and told me how great I am.” He snickered.

“Ha, of course she did.” Sirius grinned, squeezing their arm around his middle. “You are great.”

“And what I did with Fenrir was amazing and I should feel good about that, but how I’m feeling now is valid and unsurprising.” He ran his free hand through Snuffles’ fur.

“I mean… I could’ve told you that. I’m very proud of you for telling him to fuck off.”

“I know you could’ve told me, but it’s better coming from Poppy for some reason? Does that make sense?” Remus furrowed his brow.

“It does. Having someone detached from the situation to tell you things makes it seem much more real.” Sirius leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Don’t frown, I get it.”

“Okay.” He yawned. “Christ, how am I tired still?”

Sirius puffed out their cheeks. “I mean, gee, it could be the resurgence of a traumatic event from your past and the mental toll that takes on you?”

Remus rolled his eyes then bumped their shoulder. “I know, but it’s still crazy how much I slept and still feel tired.”

“Yeah. We can head home and just cuddle up?”

“Yeah, I could do with a cuddle.” He kissed their temple.

“One cuddle coming right up.” Sirius grinned, nudging him down the street towards the bus stop. They had ran here but they figured the bus would be a better route back with Remus so tired.

“I know I don’t have to twist your arm for a cuddle.”

“What kinda spouse would I be if cuddles weren’t readily available, hm?” Sirius chuckled. 

“A terrible, terrible one, I’d call for a divorce.”

“Ohh, I’d wager good grounds for a divorce too,” Sirius agreed, pausing at the bus stop and patting Snuffles on the head.

Remus put his head on their shoulder and nodded. “For sure. Good thing that’s not where we’re at.”

“Exactly. Cuddles all the time. Unless this flesh prison decides to feel like it’s not mine, then I might not be down to cuddle. But mostly cuddles.”

“Damn flesh prison,” He mumbled against their shoulder.

“It’s been good recently.” Sirius smiled, kissing his forehead as Snuffles tried to wedge himself in the gap between theirs and Remus’ legs. “Feeling pretty good in myself.”

“I’m glad, I love your flesh prison and your brain, even when my brain is an arsehole.” Remus lifted his head the bus came to a stop.

“I love you too, even when your brain is an arsehole,” Sirius murmured, kissing him again before starting towards the bus with Snuffles.


	21. Chapter 21

Remus nearly nodded off on Sirius’ shoulder after their short walk near where they did therapy. Sirius managed to get him to take the day and Poppy encouraged at least one more day as well as seeing her again on Thursday as he was scheduled to do. Poppy was good to talk to, and even if the advice she was going to give was things he already thought or Sirius said, it made more impact for coming from her. She was completely unbiased.

“Can we cuddle in bed?” Remus watched Sirius open the door.

“Sounds perfect. Do you want tea?”

“Yeah.” He yawned as they got into the apartment.

“Mmkay, I’m gonna put the kettle on. Shall we make a blanket fort?” Sirius smiled back at him, starting into the kitchen.

“That sounds like a great idea.” Remus nodded. He wasn’t sure where he would be without Sirius.

“Snuffs, go keep Moony company, hm?” Sirius patted Snuffles on the head as they went to put the kettle on. As if he could understand them, Snuffles trotted over to him.

Remus gave him a pat before walking towards the bedroom, Snuffles walking along. He went to work building a blanket fort. When he was halfway down, he was so tired, so he just sort of collapsed into the bed for a moment.

“Hi gorgeous,” came Sirius’ voice after a while, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “You alright?”

“Mmm, yeah, just so fucking exhausted.” He shuffled up the bed against the pillows.

“I bet. There’s tea on the side. Do you want to watch anything?”

“I guess, yeah.” Remus rubbed his face then gave Sirius a soft smile. He was so happy to have them around, even if he told them a million times they should work instead of watching him wallow.

“We can find something shitty on Netflix,” Sirius added, climbing onto the bed with him and settling by his side before rearranging some of the pillows in their fort. “Shitty Netflix and tea in the pillow fort cures all ails.”

“They do.” Remus cuddled up against Sirius, wrapping an arm around their middle.

Sirius smiled and wriggled to get them closer. “Hi gorgeous,” they murmured, kissing his cheek. “I’m glad therapy was good.”

“Me too.” Remus nuzzled their neck and took a deep breath.

“You alright there caro?” Sirius kissed the top of his head, one hand stroking down Remus’ spine.

“Yeah, I’m just… I’m really lucky to have you.” He pressed a kiss to their collarbone. When he was at the peak of his anxiety spiral, Remus was sure that he would be okay if Sirius left. That was so not true, Sirius was the best thing to happen to him in his love life.

Sirius hummed, still stroking Remus’ back. “And I’m really lucky to have you too caro.” Their voice was soft and low in Remus’ hair. “Whatever you need right now, I’m here.”

“Just you right now.” He looked up at them.

“Okay,” Sirius murmured, smiling as they kissed the tip of his nose. “Really anything. Snuggles, awful Netflix, getting stoned, a really great blowjob, beat the shit out of me. Whatever you need.”

Remus let out a genuine laugh, which felt like the first in a few days now.

Sirius grinned in response. “Ah,  _ there’s _ my husband. Hi.”

“You’re so ridiculous, I love you.” He sat up a little and ran a hand through his curls.

“I love you too,” Sirius murmured, reaching over him for their tea.

“I don’t know about beating the shit out of you, but the rest sounds pretty good.”

Sirius chuckled. “I’m okay with that. We’ve got cookies, haven’t we? Or do you want a joint?”

Remus hummed, thinking for a moment. “Cookie is probably a bit too strong, joint.”

“Plus I get to see you roll and that’s always my favourite.”

“Oh, see, I was going to suggest you roll.” He leaned back against one of the pillows.

Sirius bit their lip, then shrugged. “I suppose I need practise, don’t I? Why, do you like me rolling?”

Remus shrugged. “I like seeing the determined look on your face. It’s cute, you stick your tongue out just a little. Also, I bought you some rolling papers. They’re in there.” He pointed to their little box.”

“That’s arguably the most Daddy thing you’ve ever said.” Sirius grinned, leaning over to retrieve the box and a magazine laying there. “You did?” They tipped the lid open and plucked up a packet. “ _ Gold _ papers? Oh my god that’s so extra, I love it.”

“ _ That’s  _ the most Daddy thing?” He snickered a little, pulling his legs up to his chest. “I had to buy them because they are extra and very you.”

“I don’t know if I should be offended by that,” Sirius said with a smile as they set about rolling, their tongue at the corner of their mouth.

“No, don’t be offended.” He rubbed their leg. “I love you being extra.”

“I’m very glad you do.” Sirius was deep in concentration. “This enough?” They asked before they started rolling the paper back and forth.

“Yeah, perfect.” Remus watched them closely, loving the expression on their face.

Sirius nodded, their eyes fixed on the joint for a moment longer before they licked it shut. “There. What do you think, Mr. Stoner?”

“Ha, good.” He nodded. “You think our weed intake will lower if we ever have kids.”

“Well we can’t parent stoned, so I suppose? Date nights though, James and Lil can babysit or something.” Sirius lit the joint and took a drag before passing it to him.

“Mmm, of course.” Remus took the joint.

“We’ll manage, I’m sure.” Sirius learned in to kiss the corner of his mouth.

He kissed them back quickly then leaned back a little and took a hit, holding it in his lungs for a moment. Sirius smiled wider, brushing their thumb over his lower lip, staying close. Remus slowly let the smoke out, not moving away from Sirius.

Sirius’ lips parted just a little as they breathed in, watching Remus carefully. “Mm, hi caro.”

“Hi my pearl.” Remus pressed a kiss to their lips quickly then sat back a little.

“You are far too sexy.”

“Oh yeah?” He took another drag then handed Sirius the joint.

Sirius took the joint, leaning their head on his shoulder. “Mhmm. Far, far too sexy. I remember the first time I saw you smoking a joint was at your mam’s and I nearly lost my shit.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t tell mam to fuck off or just drag me upstairs.” Remus laughed, stretching his legs out and resting them on either side of Sirius.

“I was on my best behaviour because I was meeting her for the first time. Plus I didn’t know how much you liked me being a brat back then.” Sirius leaned back into him, kissing his jaw as they exhaled a drag.

“Right. Remember how I would barely even kiss you because we were at my mam’s?” He turned his chin up a little.

Sirius laughed. “And then I was a brat and riled you up by stretching so you shagged me against the wall.”

“With the leather jacket too.” He wrapped his legs around them and pulled Sirius a little closer.

“Mmm, I know, I’m awful.” Sirius wriggled closer, running a hand over his thigh as they held the joint out to him with their other.

“You really are.” He agreed. “The biggest brat on the face of the earth.”

“You love it,” they murmured, kissing him softly.

“I do princess.”

“So, we’ve got the shitty Netflix, we’re getting stoned… how about a really great blowjob?”

“I think I want to get off with you.” Remus’ fingers went up to their hair.

Sirius stretched their neck a little, leaning into his hand. “Yeah? I’m sure we can think of something.”

He laughed, fingers still carding through their hair. “You’re worse than Snuffles with the pets.”

“I just like your hands in my hair, caro.” Sirius paused, biting their lip. “I just like your hands in general I suppose.”

“I know you do.” His free hand trailed down their front. “Why don’t you put the joint out?”

Sirius smiled widely. “Of course Daddy,” they murmured, leaning over to the ashtray to stub out the joint and leave it there.

“What do you want to do? Do you have any requests?”

“We could 69?” Sirius kissed the tip of his nose again, pressing their body against his. “I just want to make you feel good.”

“Okay, you always make me feel good.” Remus’ hands went down their back. “I wanted to ride you too. So, we can do both.”

Sirius shivered. “Mhmm, I like the sound of that.”

“Okay.” He kissed down to their jaw. “I want you to wear something I like, I think.”

“Yeah? You do, do you?”

“Yeah.” Remus pressed a soft kiss to their neck.

“Tell me what you want me to wear, then.” Sirius tipped their chin back, their body shifting against his.

He huffed a little breath against their skin. “You know what I like.”

“Yeah? You trust me?” Sirius put their hand over his eyes, kissing him briefly before they pulled back and climbed off the bed.

“Of course I trust you.” Remus sat back, wondering what they were going to choose.

“Do you want to be surprised?” Sirius shot him a look over their shoulder as they pulled off their clothes.

“Hmm, yeah.” He licked his lips.

“Okay, close your eyes.” Sirius threw their shirt at his head, laughing.

Remus grabbed the shirt before it hit him then tossed it aside before closing his eyes. “For some reason I don’t trust you doing this now that we’re here.”

Sirius just chuckled in response, and Remus heard the dresser drawers opening and closing.

“I don’t like the chuckle.”

“You said you trusted me,” Sirius said in a sing-song voice. There was some more moving about before the room went a little quiet. “Okay, here.”

“I trust you so much, but you’re a brat.” Remus took a second then sat up, opening his eyes. Sirius was in a navy button-down of Remus’, with only one or two buttons done up, and their leather thigh harness was peeking out from beneath the shirt tails. “Okay, I guess I should just trust you.”

“Yeah, see?” Sirius smiled, pushing their hair off their shoulder to show their leather collar. “Daddy should just trust me.”

“It’s hard to trust you when you can be a brat… when you are a brat.” He held a hand out for them.

Sirius leaned down and kissed his palm. “I should be offended. I can be very good.”

“Only sometimes, and certainly not a lot.”

“Mhmm. You like it when I’m bad though,” Sirius murmured, running a hand through their hair. The silver of their bracelet caught the light outside.

“I do, huh?” Remus tugged them towards the bed.

“I think you do.” Sirius leaned over and slid their palm up his thigh.

“You want to be good for Daddy, don’t you?” He’s fingers slid down to their wrist to the bracelet.

“Sometimes. If he’s nice to me.”

“Only when I’m nice.” Remus’ fingers wrapped around their wrist.

Sirius watched him carefully, reaching their fingers forward so the tips grazed over Remus’ cock. “I thought you were always nice to me?”

“You’re the one that said  _ sometimes _ .” Remus let out a soft moan at the touch.

“Yeah?” Sirius bit their lip, circling their fingers a little harder. “I can be good for Daddy.”

“You can be?” He pulled them closer.

Sirius climbed onto the bed next to Remus, grinning as they stroked over him. “Yeah. I can be.”

“Why don’t you be good now?”

“Tell me what to do then.” Sirius’ grin looked innocent as anything.

Remus ran a hand down their thigh. “Help get me undressed.”

Sirius bit their lip, leaning up and plucking the hem of Remus’ shirt up so they could pull it off over his head. He laughed, holding his arms up to help Sirius.

“See? I’m nice,” Sirius said, tossing his shirt aside and sitting back on their heels. 

“For once.” Remus raised an eyebrow.

Sirius just smiled back like the picture of innocence, hands in their lap.

“If you want me, you should probably take my bottoms off.” He gave them a look.

“Oh, should I?” 

Remus stretched out and shrugged. “Mmm, guess we can just cuddle then.”

Sirius smiled coyly, fingers hooking over the waistband of Remus’ bottoms. “You’re the one who said you wanted us both to get off,” they murmured, leaning down and pressing an open mouthed kiss over Remus through the fabric.

“You don’t want to?” Remus knew what the answer was, but wanted to give them a hard time. He loved that he could play with them and be himself. It was the healthiest he’d ever had.

“Daddy just wants to cuddle, doesn't he?” Sirius looked up through their eyelashes, swirling their tongue over the head of Remus’ cock beneath his clothes.

“Fuck, mmm, yeah.”

Sirius smiled, circling their tongue again before sitting up. “Okay let’s cuddle.”

Remus rolled his eyes at them, but settled into the bed. “Okay.”

“Hmm, I’m glad you agree.” Sirius shifted and laid out next to him, nuzzling their nose against his jaw as they pressed their body tight against his side. Remus could feel their erection against his hip.

Remus pressed back against them, moving his hips against them. “You’s so pretty princess.”

Sirius squirmed a little, their hips pushing forward as they nipped at his neck. “I like this colour shirt on me. What do you think?”

“You should wear more navy.” Remus’ hand slipped under the hem of the shirt, trailing over the leather on their thigh. “You could wear anything though and look so sexy.” He wrapped his hand around them.

“Mmmhm. I think you’re biased,” Sirius murmured, their hips canting forward a little.

“That’s fine.” He smirked, giving them a slow stroke.

“I’m not complaining,” Sirius said, swallowing around a groan. “What do you want me to do Daddy?”

“Ah, I thought we were cuddling.” He kissed their neck softly as his hand still moved.

“You and I have very different definitions of cuddling,” Sirius replied, tipping their head back.

Remus shrugged letting Sirius go and running a hand down their leg to the top of their thigh. Sirius groaned, pressing their hips against his thigh and their mouth against his shoulder. “What are you doing? I thought we were cuddling?” Remus’ tried his best to keep his voice teasing.

“Mhmm, this is cuddling,” Sirius said, nipping at the ball of his shoulder as they rolled their hips against his thigh.

“Yeah?” Remus lightly trailed his fingers over their thigh.

Sirius lifted their chin a little to smile at him. Remus imagined they were doing their best to look innocent, but he knew them better than that. “Mhmm, don’t--ah--mind me, just cuddling.”

“Oh okay.” Remus shifted a little, moving away just a fraction.

“Hey, I’m trying to cuddle,” Sirius murmured, reaching up to run a hand through his hair.

“We are cuddling.” Remus rolled on to his side and smiled down at them, his hand still on their leg.

“I thought you wanted to ride me?”

“I do.” Remus moved, wiggling out of his bottoms finally. He tossed them aside then straddled Sirius’ hips.

Sirius groaned, going still underneath him except for the shifting of their hips up against his. “Oh, good. I’m so glad.”

Remus let out a little laugh. “You are, huh? What about 69’ing?” He held on to their hips, giving them a squeeze.

“We can do that,” Sirius said, wriggling against his grip. “I wanna. Let me eat you out?”

“Hmm, I guess so.” Remus shrugged before leaning forward to drop a kiss to their lips.

Sirius pushed up onto their elbows to kiss him back and linger close to his mouth. “Pretty please Daddy?”

“Of course, you’re asking so nicely.” Remus pushed their hair back as he kissed them one more time before pulling away.

“Mmm, thank you. I know you like my tongue in you.”

“Very true,” He said while shifting around so he would be able to take Sirius into his mouth. Sirius hummed in response, their hands sliding up the back of Remus’ thighs to his arse. Remus shuffled down a little more to get comfortable before taking Sirius into his hand again. “Don’t make me come, I want you in me in a bit.”

“Mm, okay. Anything you want Daddy,” Sirius replied before swirling the flat of their tongue over Remus’ entrance.

Remus closed his eyes for a moment at the sensation. “I know, you’re so good princess.” His tongue licked up Sirius’ cock.

Sirius moaned in response, their tongue hot and wet against him. In response, Remus groaned then took Sirius into his mouth, a hand around the base of their cock. Sirius lifted their hips just a little, their hum vibrating against Remus’ skin as they palmed over his arse and pressed their tongue deeper into him.

“Ah,” Remus moaned as his head tilted back. “Fuck.”

“Mmmph, I love you like this,” Sirius mumbled between kisses and licks, their fingers digging in just a little.

“Ah, yeah?” Remus tried to focus on Sirius’ cock but it was difficult with their tongue inside of them.

Sirius swirled their tongue, pressing deeper for a moment before pulling back to tease the sensitive flesh. “Mmm, love the taste of you.”

“Shit.” Remus gave up trying to take care of Sirius and straightened up a little, trying to get even closer to Sirius’ tongue. They gave a little noise in response, their hips lifting a little, but didn’t otherwise complain, their tongue just pressing and nudging deeper. Remus closed his eyes. His mouth falling open as he felt Sirius’ tongue inside of him. “I want your cock in me.”

“Mmm, please.”

Remus shifted for a moment then reached over for the lube then dropped it beside Sirius. “Well, get me ready then.”

Sirius chuckled. “ _ Pretty please, princess?” _

“I don’t have to ask nicely.” Remus glanced over his shoulder at them.

Sirius smiled back, their lips all pink. “Okay Daddy.” Thankfully, they reached for the lube as they pressed another kiss to Remus’ entrance.

“Ah, good.” Remus closed his eyes, listening and feeling Sirius.

“See? I can be nice.” Sirius pressed a slick finger against him, sliding in easily. “Even if it’s a little difficult like this. But I know how you like it.”

“I’m sure you can manage.” Remus shifted his legs a little after letting out a long moan.

“You wouldn’t want to make it easy for me, would you Daddy?”

“No.” Remus wiggled his hips a little then sunk down onto Sirius’ finger.

Sirius groaned in response, twisting and curling their finger a little. “I could do a better job of it not like this though.” They pressed a kiss against his skin. “Though I do like it like this, I get to watch.”

“All you can - ah - all you can see is my back.”

“Mm, and your thighs and your arse and where my cock is going to be as soon as you let me.”

“I guess I’ll have to let you eventually.” Remus’ eyes fluttered closed.

Sirius eased another finger into him, curling them both. “I could stay here all day, if you wanted, but Daddy told me not to make him come.”

“Ah, and that you listen too.” Remus moaned again, l holding on to Sirius’ thighs.

“Mhmm. I’m listening to you moaning,” they replied, pressing deeper.

“You are? Maybe I’ll just come like this instead.”

Sirius teased a third finger against him. “You like it better when I’m inside you.”

Remus bit his lip, groaning as he adjusted to the third finger. “You are inside me.”

“Mm, pedant.” Remus could practically  _ hear _ the eye-roll in Sirius’ voice.

He chuckled then shivered at the feeling of Sirius’ fingers twisting inside of him. “You know I like specifics.”

“Mm okay.” Sirius’ voice was soft as they shifted and pressed a kiss to his entrance around their fingers. “I know you like it much better when my cock is in you.”

“I do, I love your cock. It feels so good inside me.” Remus let out a long breath.

“Yeah? I always wanna make you feel good Daddy.”

His stomach did a little twist at the nickname, as it always did and he shifted his hips. “You do always make me feel good.” Remus moaned.

“Mmm, good,” Sirius murmured, their voice muffled as they slid their tongue over his skin, curling three fingers.

Remus clutched his hands on their thighs. “Shit, ah. Sometimes -- sometimes I can’t decide what I want to do with you.”

“Whatever you want Daddy, all of it. Whatever you want. Yours for whatever you want.”

Normally he was a good Dom, he thought. He was always able to make a choice except when something was pushing him into anxiety. Remus had been so anxious lately, so it shouldn’t have been surprising. “I could do anything to you, couldn’t I?”

“Anything,” Sirius breathed, twisting their fingers.

Remus lifted up, Sirius’ fingers sliding out of him. He moved and turned around to look at Sirius. “I know.”

Sirius wriggled beneath him, stretching their hands out above their head in submission. “Love you.”

“I love you too.” Remus ran a hand up their stomach. “Christ, I don’t know what I want to do.”

“Ride me,” was Sirius’ instant answer. “Cover me in hickeys and ride me and hold me down and do whatever you want. Don’t decide, just do.”

Remus closed his eyes, trying to figure out what he wanted, but couldn’t pull it out. It was as if something was blocking what he really wanted from coming out. He knew he had to stop, at least for a few minutes. “Waffles.”

Sirius sat up instantly, their hands going to Remus’ upper arms as they sort of wriggled out from beneath him. “Hey. It’s okay.”

He put his hands over his face. “I know it is.” He rolled on to the bed and covered his face with his hands. “I thought I wanted this, really, I did.”

“It’s fine that you don’t. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to force you. I wanted to give you this if you needed it.”

Remus shook his head. “No, no, you didn’t force me to do anything.”

“Okay.” Sirius leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I love you.”

“I do what to get off, I just don’t know what I want to do.” Remus wrapped a hand around their arm.

“Okay,” Sirius murmured, kissing his shoulder. “I wanna go down on you? If you wanna get off?”

Remus shrugged, putting his head on their chest. Sirius kissed the top of his head, sliding their hand down his side and stroking over his hip. “I hate being indecisive.”

“I know you do.” Sirius kissed his hair again, rubbing their thumb over his hipbone. “And I only want to do exactly what you want me to, caro.”

“I know that.” Remus nodded, closing his eyes. He just wanted to feel confident in what he wanted. At least Sirius was so understanding.


	22. Chapter 22

Sirius bit their lip as they looked down at Remus, their fingers stroking a small circle on his hip. They were so glad he had safeworded out of a situation he wasn’t comfortable with, unlike last time. Sirius just wanted to make him happy.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” Remus closed his eyes. “I…”

Sirius hummed to show they were listening, kissing the top of his head.

“I kind of want to really just dominate the shit out of you but… I don’t feel like I should. I don’t know why.”

“That’s okay. Whatever you want, I’m down with. Do whatever you want. You can Dom me and tell me to go make you dinner naked, if you like.”

He laughed, nuzzling their neck. “Something in my brain keeps saying that I shouldn’t right now. I don’t know why.”

Sirius bit their lip, tilting their chin up just a little. “Is it… is it because you feel in some way like you don’t deserve it? Or you’re not good enough? Because I trust you. You deserve to feel in control and in charge and have agency.”

“I guess… I feel like on some level that I should be all about wanting to Dom right now, but… I don’t know…”

“Well,” Sirius hummed, smiling slyly, going for an almost, sort of, not really joke. “Do you want  _ me  _ to Dom?”

Remus made a face. “I think that’d make me more uncomfortable.”

“Oh thank god.” Sirius flopped back onto the bed, chuckling. “I don’t think I’d be able to.”

“I mean, I think you have a little of it in your when you’re trying to make me feel better or admit I’m in pain.” He let out a snort.

“Ha! Trying to make sure you take your meds.”

“That’s the only time. Would you even know how to Dom?” Remus raised an eyebrow.

Sirius gasped, giving him an offended look. “Caro! I bet I could, thank you! I’ve been on the receiving end often enough.”

“Oh sure.” Remus moved to sit up.

“Stay there,” Sirius said, surprised by the tone of their voice as they put a hand on his chest.

Both of Remus’ eyebrows went up. “Okay.”

Sirius smiled softly at his expression, their hand staying on his chest. “Good.”

He laughed. “What’s next?”

_ Oh god.  _ Sirius had no idea what to do next, or how far they should go. “I have ideas.”

“That are…”

_ Shit. _ Saying  _ err _ didn’t sound too Dom. “I said I wanted to go down on you. Remember the first time I did that? I liked taking you apart like that.”

Remus let out a little laugh. “That’s nice.”

“ _ Nice? _ ” Sirius snorted a laugh. “Nice.”

“Yeah, it’s sweet that you think that sounded like a Dom.”

Sirius’ eyebrows shot up, trying not to grin ear to ear. “Think that’s not how you sound?”

“Is it?” Remus pushed against Sirius’ hand to straddle their hips again.

“I dunno, is it?” Sirius let him, giving just enough resistance, but they knew he didn’t like to be restrained.

“No Princess, I don’t sound that sweet that way.”

“Don’t you?” Sirius smiled, their stomach twisting at the nickname. “I don’t think I can remember how you sound. I think it’s sweet.”

“Maybe I’m not a very good Dom then.” He rolled off of Sirius and going to land on the floor. “I’m going to get some water. You’re going to sit there on your knees waiting nicely for me.”

“Pretty please,” Sirius murmured.

Remus fixed them with a look before walking towards the door.

“No manners, Daddy.” Sirius watched him walk away, letting out a breath. They didn’t want to push him where he didn’t want to go, but they wanted to give him the space to do what he needed. 

“Do you want to wait a long time?” Remus paused in the doorway.

Sirius shifted onto their knees, folding their hands nicely in their lap. “No Daddy.”

“Okay princess.” Remus headed out of the bedroom.

Humming in response, Sirius shut their eyes and settled to get comfortable. They wanted to just give Remus what he needed.

About five minutes later Sirius heard Remus coming back down the hallway. They kept their eyes shut, sitting still on their heels, listening for him drawing closer. They hoped they had gotten across how much they just wanted to do what he needed.

“You’re so beautiful princess.” Remus’ voice came from right in front of them as the sound of two glasses were set down.

Sirius’ stomach twisted with pleasure at the compliment. “Thank you.”

“You’re so good for waiting.” Remus sat on the bed next to Sirius.

“Thank you,” Sirius said, turning towards him a little. “I like being good for you.”

“I know.” Remus laid back against the pillows. “You’re really dying to give me a blowjob, aren’t you?”

“I like making you happy. I want to do whatever makes you happy and I know you like my mouth.”

“I do, I love your mouth. It’s so good. Why don’t you go down on me then?” Remus gave a little smirk.

Sirius shifted forward. “Yeah? Will you let me?”

“I guess I will, maybe you should ask for it one more really nicely.” Remus cupped their cheek.

“Mm okay,” they breathed, moving between his legs on their hands and knees, not breaking eye contact. “Pretty please can I go down on you, Daddy?”

“You can princess.” Remus leaned forward to press a quick kiss to their lips.

Sirius kissed back with a soft noise before ducking down and trailing their mouth over the crease of his hip. Remus’ fingers curled into their hair, shifting his hips. Sirius hummed, curling one hand around the base of Remus’ cock as they swirled their tongue over the tip.

“Ah, shit, you belong with your lips around my cock.” Remus’ fingers tightened in their hair a little.

“Mhmmm,” Sirius groaned, wriggling to press their own hips into the mattress as they took Remus deeper.

“Take me in deeper.” He gasped.

Sirius glanced up at him, half-smiling as they shifted, their tongue swirling as they did as he said, sucking softly.

Remus softly pushed their head down, lifting his hips slightly. Sirius moaned a little, tilting their head, letting him push them around all he liked. “You’re doing so good.” He groaned, pulling them up by their hair, just a fraction.

Sirius swallowed, looking up at him and trying to catch their breath for a brief moment. One hand held onto Remus’ thigh as the other stroked over the base of his cock. With a moan, he pushed Sirius back down, nearly making them take his whole length in. They let out a breath through their nose, sucking and tonguing over the sensitive underside, happy to let him  _ use _ them.

“You’re, ah shit, you’re amazing princess.” Remus’ hips lifted again, fingers pulling at their hair. “I’m so close.”

“Mmhmm,” Sirius repeated, their hand loosening on his thigh just a little so he could buck up against them. They loved this, loved being able to give him this.

It only took a few more shallow thrusts before Remus was tensing under Sirius’ touch. “Oh shit.”

Sirius swallowed him down, their throat working around his cock as their eyes fluttered shut.

As Remus came, he gripped tighter in Sirius’ hair, his hips did their thing. “Fuck.”

Sirius shuddered at the tightness of his fingers in their hair, coaxing him all the way through his orgasm.

Eventually Remus went boneless into the bed, panting. “You’re so good.”

Only then Sirius pulled back, wiping their mouth on the back of their hand. “Thank you Daddy.”

“You okay?” Remus cracked one eye open.

“Mmhm, I’m good. Is there water?” 

“Yeah.” Remus moved to reach over to the night stand.

They sat up and met him halfway to take the glass from him and down half the contents. “Thank you.”

“Do you want to get off?” Remus watched them.

“I could, if you wanted me too. I want you to be happy.” Sirius pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

“I want you to be happy too.” He reached up and cupped their cheek. “What do you want to do?”

Sirius smiled, leaning into him. “Whatever you want. Where are you on your scale? You want to get me off or watch me?”

“Honestly, I don’t really know.” Remus snickered. “I just want you to get off.”

“Okay,” Sirius murmured, bringing their hand up to their mouth to lick a flat stripe across their own palm, taking their time.

“You’re so beautiful,” Remus said softly, fingers going to card through their hair again.

Sirius felt their stomach flip at the praise, tilting their head towards his touch as they reached down to wrap a hand around themselves beneath Remus’ shirt-tails. Remus’ free hand slipped down their back to their arse. They tilted their hips back a little, holding eye contact as they gave their cock a slow stroke, moaning softly.

“You’re so good for Daddy.” Remus’ fingers trailed back up their back then down again.

“Mm, I like being good for Daddy,” Sirius breathed, still stroking slowly. “Does he like watching?”

“Yeah, you look so perfect princess.” He pulled their hair somewhat gently.

Sirius shuddered, their back arching as they twisted their wrist and stroked their thumb over the head. They held their eye contact with Remus, biting their lip and letting out another sharper moan.

“Are you going to come for Daddy?”

“Ah—yeah, I wanna, I wanna.” Sirius’ eyes fluttered shut for a moment before they looked back to Remus.

“I want you to princess.” Remus’ nails lightly scraped down their back.

Sirius moaned again, biting their lip harder at the rush of pain and pleasure. “Fuck, I wanna—” 

“Come for me princess.” Remus tugged at their hair and dug his nails in on their back deeper.

“ _ Fuck _ .” Sirius threw their head back as they came, their body tensing and shuddering as they spilled over Remus’ thigh. “Ah, fuck—fuck—” 

“You’re so good.” Remus kissed their temple, rubbing their back.

Their orgasm finally faded away, and Sirius sat back on their heels, leaning into Remus. “Mm, love you.”

“I love you too.”

After a moment, they took a breath and lifted their head to look at him. “How are you feeling?”

“Tired still but better thanks to the weed and the orgasm.” Remus snickered, closing his eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Weed and orgasms fix lots of things,” Sirius said, chuckling. “I’m good.”

“Good.” He stretched out a little. For a few minutes he was quiet with his eyes closed, Sirius thought he had even drifted off until he spoke again. “I think one more day off work then I want to go back.”

Sirius smiled, curling up next to him. “That sounds like a good idea,” they hummed, kissing his cheek. “Maybe next week we can look at houses out in the suburbs.”

“Yeah? You still want to do that?” He opened his eyes.

“Mhmm. You’re right, more space would be nice.”

“I’ll be sad to move out of this flat, but it would be nice. Snuffles would be happier, wouldn’t he?” Remus yawned.

“I agree. A garden for him to snuffle about in? A spare room. Room for a piano, and a pole!”

“Thoughts of grandeur for a small place in the suburbs.” He smiled softly. “Don’t think we can afford a grand piano, but I’m sure we can get one second hand and I think we could probably figure out a pole. We should look into some suspension stuff too.”

“Let me dream caro,” Sirius chuckled. “Yeah. A hard point for suspension would be good and I would really love a pole at home.”

“I’ll have a hard time getting things done.” Remus played with this hair.

Sirius gave him a smug smile. “Oh no, what a shame.”

“I know you’re so sad about that.”

“So very sad.” They smiled, holding their free hand out to his. “I love you, Remus.”

“I love you too, Sirius.” Remus took their hand and gave it a squeeze. “Thanks for forcing me to accepting help.” He snorted a softly.

“Ha. You can always count on me to be dramatic and stubborn, with my heart in the right place.” Sirius gave him the sweetest look they could muster, bringing his hand up to kiss his knuckles.

“Always in the right place. I’m lucky I found someone so bloody stubborn.”

“Almost as stubborn as you.”

“It’s why we work.” Remus kissed their cheek.

Sirius tilted their head to capture his lips in a quick kiss. “Dream team.”

“Mmm, yeah.” Remus wrapped his arms around them. “I think I need a cloth.”

“Ugh, way to ruin the sappy mood,” Sirius scoffed with a little teasing grin.

“Hey, I’m going to be okay, you know?” Remus smiled. “Is that sappy enough to get us back?”

“Mm, more than enough.” Sirius smiled back, their teasing expression fading to something more earnest. “We’re okay, aren’t we.”

“ _ We _ are, yeah.” Remus smiled back.


End file.
